


Forget the Horror Here

by ciitadel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Angst and Humor, Assisted Suicide, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Humor, Plot, Some Humor, Suicide, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 06:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6068830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciitadel/pseuds/ciitadel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An au where instead of our duo being Paris's most famous superheroes, Marinette and Adrien are just trying to survive in a permanently changed world filled with hordes of the undead. Meeting each other under their alias's of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the two scavengers embark on a quest to survive, and maybe even help the dying world while they're at it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first couple of chapters are probably going to be rewritten so don't be put off by the shittiness. Chapter 1 and 2 have already been rewritten but chapters 3 and 4 are pretty bad, just do me a favor and go with it lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I love zombie apocalypse stuff and Miraculous so I decided to create a fic about it! 
> 
> Btw I started this fic back in I think February 2016 so the first several chapters are probably not going to be the best as my writing has improved since then but I promise it gets better and the chapters also become much longer by around Chapter 5?? So please don't be put off by the shortness of the first four chapters I'm just too busy to rewrite them as of now
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The girls hands trembled with nerves as she quickly grabbed the cans of food beneath the counter. She didn’t like being out alone, but knew someone had to watch the camp. Her chest was thumping and her breath came in short gasps, she kept hearing what seemed like footsteps but when she turned, there was nothing there. Marinette, you’re just being paranoid. You already checked the area, there’s no corpse’s nearby. Just hurry up and you’ll be back to Alya before you know it. She thought, giving herself a mental pep talk. The wind howled through the blasted out windows, the glass that once filled them having been shattered long ago. Marinette shivered and wrapped her jacket around herself, but the cold seeped through anyway.

She could tell the winter months were going to be difficult, it was only autumn and she was already cold! That’s why Alya had sent her out in the first place, she knew they needed to stock up on food before all the animals went into hibernation. Alya was always like that, planning ahead. That’s how they had survived all this time after the dead had begun to rise. Marinette knew she would’ve been dead a long time ago if Alya and her weren’t together when this all had gone down. The memory of that fateful day flashed in her head, and she involuntarily shuddered. 

She remembered the terror that had swept the streets, the panic, the death… All of it was awful. But somehow Alya managed to remain calm as the undead swarmed through the streets of Paris. The minute she heard the news she went over to Marinette’s house and helped her barricade her parent’s bakery. Alya had already realized the streets would be clogged with traffic, so there was no hope of getting out of the city for awhile. They had waited in there for three weeks, and watched with horror as the people of Paris were massacred. Every day they would hear banging on the door and they would shrink back in Marinette’s room, waiting for the barricade to collapse. 

But it didn’t and within a month things cleared out enough for them to escape. They had been on the run ever since, working as a team.

Marinette thought over all of this as she scavenged, her hands deftly grabbing water and food and placing it neatly inside her backpack. She stood up after clearing the counter out, and moved on to the next one. She opened a drawer and almost squealed with delight at what she saw. It was a bottle of painkillers, which was something that was a very rare and coveted commodity these days. When you were constantly running for your life, pain was simply a constant state of being. Having just an hour of relief would be utter heaven to anyone who had survived this long. Just as she was about to pick up what was the equivalent of the god’s ambrosia, Marinette heard the unmistakable click of a gun turning off the safety behind her head. 

“Drop. The. Pills.” A male voice said behind her. The voice was emotionless and cold, and Marinette tried not to tremble. Slowly, she put the pills down, grabbing her knife out of her belt sheath with her other arm as subtly as she could, her hands shaking violently. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and behind the goggles she wore. The pills touched the table. 

“There we go. Now turn around slowly.” Swallowing, she prepared herself for what to do. 

Tightening her grip on the knife till her knuckles turned white, she ducked and whirled around, hearing the gunshot go off right where her head had been. Within seconds she had a knife held to her attacker’s throat, and pushed him up against a wall. 

Staring back at her were crystal green eyes framed by messy blonde hair and a pair of black goggles similar to her red ones. Now his eyes were wide with fear as she pressed the cold sharpened blade against his thumping artery, and he gulped. 

“Drop. The. Gun.” She said, mimicking his tone. He glared at her, his eyes tiny jewels of hate, and the clang of the gun dropping echoed around the room like a ghost. “Good. Now I’m going to take your gun and the pills, and leave. If you follow me, I will not hesitate to blow your brains out, or slit your throat, whichever you prefer.” She smiled sweetly at him, her tone dripping with sarcasm, and his frown deepened. 

“Fine, I won’t follow you. I just think I need those pills more than you.” He said, his voice full of contempt. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face, his chest moving in and out calmly. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“You really think I’m gonna fall for that? Look, we all need painkillers as much as the next guy. Everyone has that one friend or family member who is in ‘terrible pain’ and begs you for mercy, so you feel sympathetic and give them your loot. Then, you find them a week later overdosed in a ditch with all the pills gone, so don’t waste your bullshit story on me.” Marinette told him angrily, her eyes narrowed to match his own. They stared each other down for a moment more, and then he sighed in defeat. 

“Ok. You’re right, we probably need the pain pills for similar reasons. You found them first so I suppose I’ll let you have them.” He huffed in reluctance. She peered at him, unsure if he was tricking her or not. 

“You don’t have much of a choice when I have a knife to your throat. Now, when I bend down to grab your gun, don’t move a muscle or else this knife is going in your groin.” Her tone was flat, and she laughed internally at his shocked expression. His eyes widened and he nodded hesitantly. 

She bent down cautiously, keeping her eyes trained on his the entire time. She noticed he seemed young, almost about the same age as her. That was a surprise to her. Everyone who was her age was dead by now. Death had claimed many, the younger people seeming more willing to step into Death’s relieving grasp than others. She grasped the cool metal object in her hand, the weight of the pistol surprising her. Then she slowly stood back up, and he watched her with fascination, getting a good look at her as well.

Marinette was aware she looked like a mess, but frankly she didn’t care. Her black pigtailed hair was very greasy and her pale skin was covered with soot and dirt. She and Alya tried to bathe as often as possible but lately the rivers had been much too cold to step foot in. She noticed the boy was dirty as well, but seemed very attractive from what she could see of his face. He almost could’ve been a model.

“You’re young.” He commented in an astonished tone. 

“You are too.” She replied casually, turning to face him. 

“How old are you?” He had a sense of wonder in his eyes, as if she was the first young person he’d seen in months. Who knows? Maybe she was. She pondered whether or not she should lie to him, but realized age no longer mattered that much. 

“I’m sixteen. You?” He hesitated, probably wondering the same thing she was. 

“Seventeen. The only other person my age I know right now is my best friend.” He sighed as he said this, clearly wishing for things to change. Marinette had given up on that long ago, accepting the new world the way it was. The mood between them had inextricably shifted now that the pills situation had been settled. They were no longer hostiles battling for supplies, but rather two kids trying to survive in a dying world. 

“Same for me, my best friend is the only other person I’ve really spoken to in months.” Marinette said, letting her grip on the weapons relax. Looking at him from further away, she saw he was dressed in all black with what seemed to be a pair of cat ears adorning his wavy blonde hair. Many people seemed to do that now, dressing however they wanted since it was the end of the world. Marinette couldn’t criticize considering she was wearing red leggings with a black shirt and a red coat with black polka dots to resemble a ladybug. 

“Where did you live before this?” She inquired, wondering if they might’ve known each other. 

“I lived in Paris, but was homeschooled.” He blushed as he said this, as if embarrassed about this fact. 

“I lived in Paris too! But homeschooling, wow, that’s unusual. My parents owned a bakery, maybe you visited it?” His eyes searched, focusing on if he had ever visited a bakery but to no avail. She didn’t know why she would think she would know him, he just seemed familiar. As if it was fate that they had met.

Suddenly, a crash sounded at the end of the room. They immediately got into defensive positions, backing into a corner together with their weapons drawn. They heard the indisputable groan of a living corpse shambling towards them, and Marinette’s heart began to race as her eyes widened with fear. More groans sounded and they realized it wasn’t alone. Her breath began to come in short gasps again. 

“We gotta go.” The boy said, taking her hand with his leather clad one. She didn’t protest despite the fact that he was a complete stranger. In that moment they were a team. Fear of death always brought people together in the worst of times, made even the most hateful enemies work together. This was because when it came to life or death scenarios, most of the time people had a voice in their head shrieking “STAY ALIVE NO MATTER WHAT!”. This was one of those times. Looking around, Marinette spotted a blasted out window out of the house they were in, and knew what to do.

“There!” She pointed. He nodded and he quickly boosted her up through the small spot. His trust in her was surprising. He didn’t know her. She could leave him and keep his gun and not have to worry about him anymore, leaving him to the mercy of the undead. 

But she wouldn’t do that. 

She landed on a box outside placed right below the opening, and grabbed his hand to pull him up. She could hear the groans getting louder as they came closer, their horrid rotting stench wafting around them and making her want to puke. With all her might, she strained her muscles as he clambered through the window. Then, with a pop he was through and she fell backwards, landing on the ground rather ungracefully. They laid there together for a moment, breathing heavily as they regained their wits. 

That was too close. Marinette made a mental note to always make sure she had an escape route before checking out a building. Then, she looked to her companion, and he stared at the sky, breathing evenly. 

“You okay there?” She asked him, the worry evident in her voice. He looked over at her, and grinned widely.

“I’m purrfectly grand thanks to you! I would’ve been toast if you hadn’t pulled me through that window, so thanks!” She deadpanned at him for a moment, shocked he would make a pun at this moment of all times. 

“Did you really just make a cat pun?” Marinette was frowning. She had never found puns that particularly funny, rather she thought they were annoying. He laughed at that.

“Yes, I did, I tend to do that sometimes because, ya know, I got the whole cat thing going on?” He gestured to the ears. 

“I noticed. Why is that anyway?” Although it was commonplace to dress outlandishly now, everyone had different reasons, and sometimes those reasons were interesting. 

“I don’t know. I just always felt drawn to cats so when I found this cat headband while I was scavenging for a coat, I figured why not? I mean, you got the whole ladybug thing going on, why is that?” His hand gestured to her spots casually. Marinette paused, realizing she had never thought about why she dressed like a ladybug before.

“I… I don’t know either, just feels right I suppose.” She said with a shrug. He then sat up and smiled at her, his green eyes no longer filled with hate, but instead with happiness and curiosity. She glanced up to the sky then, and gasped when she saw orange and red streaks appearing. 

“Oh no! My friend is going to be freaking out that I’m not back yet, I’m really sorry but I have to go. Here, you can have your gun back.” She no longer was worried about him attacking her, mainly because the whole reason they had the confrontation was left in a room filled with the living dead. He didn’t know her pack was bulging with food, and he seemed friendly. 

“Thank you. But, wait, don’t leave yet, I don’t even know your name! I…” He looked down and blushed. “I, well, I want to get to know you better. I mean, it’s dangerous out here as we just saw. I was thinking maybe we could, like, watch each other’s backs while scavenging?” He scratched his eyes, his cheeks bright red. Marinette giggled to herself. She had only just met him five minutes before when he had held a gun to her head, but for some inexplicable reason she trusted the blonde. Plus, it was a tempting offer, she always hated scavenging alone. It made her feel incredibly uneasy to have her back exposed.

“I… I think that’s a great idea, I mean, after today it looks like we could be a good team. So how about we meet here in two days at noon, does that sound good?” He nodded eagerly. “Also I’m…” She thought about telling him her real name, but what good were those in this world? No one needed to know who you were in this day and age, and anonymity gave you power.

“Call me Ladybug.” She stated proudly. He smiled at that and an idea alighted his eyes. 

“Ok then Ladybug, you can call me Chat Noir.” His grin grew wider and she smiled back, the air between them light and trusting. Marinette then turned around to walk away, feeling his eyes boring into the back of her head. Calling out loudly without turning around, she yelled,

“Nice meeting you Chat Noir!” 

“It was a pleasure meeting you m’Lady!” He yelled back. The nickname made her grin like an idiot, and a weight in her chest lightened. She now had something to look forward to besides just surviving another day. She wanted to meet the silly cat again and know him better. She just felt drawn to him for some reason, and in the hopeless reality she was stuck in, she would take any excuse to keep on living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it and remember the writing quality and chapter length becomes better, I apologize for my shitty writing quality lol
> 
> My tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com (message me if you want!)


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien watched as the girl walked into the distance, her midnight pigtails bobbing with each step. He was entranced in her spell, she had been so calm and intelligent when they had gotten trapped, immediately knowing how to escape. Perhaps it was just because she was the first girl he’d met in months, but he knew he had to see her again. It frustrated him she hadn’t told him her real name, but he recognized it was unnecessary. Names didn’t carry as much weight anymore, so many preferred the anonymity the apocalypse granted them. 

Adrien took advantage of this by becoming a silly and outgoing black cat who told puns, and he enjoyed that freedom immensely. Glancing at the sky, he realized it was becoming rather late, and that soon Nino would start to worry about him. Surveying the area, he quickly figured out a safe route to make his way back to their camp. 

He jogged as he went, the darkening air sending a bolt of nervousness through him. But to keep his mind off of it, he busied himself with thoughts of her. He pictured her deep blue eyes hidden behind those red goggles, alighted with wisdom and intelligence. He saw her soot covered face, her small pink lips pursed in thought. There was no way he could explain it, but it was as if the Fates had personally orchestrated the two of them meeting. His chest felt light and there was a bounce in his step, as he eventually came upon their hidden base in the alleyway. Peering down the shadowy back street, he saw the dark figure of his best friend stand up at the approaching footsteps.

“Relax Nino, it’s only me.” He said in reassurement, coming upon the small fire that was burning in front of their tent. 

“Dude, warn me earlier next time! You scared the shit outta me bro!” Nino replied in his usual surfer twang. Adrien removed his goggles, leaving them around his neck as he sat down to warm his hands. He glanced at his best friend and smirked at his dirt-smudged glasses and brightly colored DJ outfit. Even in the apocalypse, Nino had a broken pair of orange headphones looped around his neck. Nino sat down beside him, and then noticed the lack of loot on Adrien’s person. 

“Dude you didn’t get anything?! We need more food and stuff you know that! What were you doing out there for so long?” Adrien sighed, feeling guilty that he hadn’t been able to get anything. After pondering it for a moment, Adrine decided to tell his friend the truth. It wasn’t good to lie to the person who saved your life on a regular basis. 

“Okay, I can explain I swear. It’s a long story though,” He warned. Nino nodded for him to continue. “I was out looking for stuff when I came across this house. The front door was open so I thought it had already been raided but I heard a noise from the inside. I thought it was another corpse but something felt off so I silently snuck inside. That’s when I saw this girl who was examining something in her hand. Even though I was behind her I could tell it was a bottle of painkillers.” Nino’s eyes expanded at that. “So obviously I wanted them. I looked around and saw she was alone, so I held a gun to her head and told her to put the pills down and turn around. She put the pills down but then she ducked and next thing I know I’m up against a wall and there’s blade against my neck!” 

“She robbed you?!” 

“No, let me finish…” Adrien recounted the two of them finding out one another’s ages and how they had both lived in Paris, and then went on to explain how they went from enemies to allies in a matter of seconds thanks to the appearance of a few zombies. “...Then I said a cat pun.”

“You did not say a cat pun after almost dying man.” He asked incredulously.

“Oh yes I did. So then I asked her name and if we can meet and scavenge together again because scavenging alone is dangerous, and she agreed! But she didn’t tell me her actual name, she said to call her Ladybug so I told her to call me Chat Noir. So yeah, that’s why I didn’t get anything while scavenging.” He finished. Nino stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly. 

“You’re telling me… you didn’t get food... because you ran into a girl?! Oh my god, Agreste!” He exclaimed in exasperation, letting out a sigh and facepalming himself. 

“I meant to, but… she just had this aura about her, Nino. It was hypnotizing.” Adrien was looking into the distance dreamily. 

“Well at least tell me what she looked like so I know she’s a real person and not some imaginary hallucination your desperate brain made up.” Adrien thought about it, realizing that would be a plausible explanation for why she was so dream-like. But she wouldn’t have helped him through that window if she wasn’t real.

“I couldn’t see her face that well because she had on red goggles like my black ones, but… she had these big bluebell eyes and hair so black it was almost blue in these little pigtails…” He trailed off, staring vacantly into space imagining her again. Nino waved a hand in front of his face. 

“Hello? Earth to Adrien? Stop daydreaming about your girl, we need to eat and get inside the tent.” Adrien snapped back to awareness, his bubble of joy ruined. 

“Sorry, I’ll grab more food when I meet up with her again.” He apologized, feeling guilty for shirking his responsibility. Nino let out a small laugh and waved it off.

“It’s fine dude, you were lovestruck! And anyway, we’re going down to the river tomorrow to catch some fish before it freezes, so we can just stock up then.” Adrien nodded and finished eating his can of beans, his thoughts still of the magical girl. Suddenly tired, they climbed into the tent and zipped it shut after putting the fire out, lest the light draw the attention of the corpses. Adrien closed his eyes, letting his body relax as the mood in the air turned tranquil, and he quickly fell asleep in a sea of blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was so short, I just really wanted to get Adrien's perspective on things! Thank you so much for reading this!! Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Marinette was peppered by questions for the umpteenth by the inquisitive Alya. 

“Wait, so tell me what this ‘Chat Noir’ looked like again?” Alya asked between a mouthful of canned peaches. 

“I told you, I couldn’t see his face that well because of his goggles. But from what I could see, he was tan, had these bright crystal green eyes and wavy blonde hair. I swear he could’ve been a model if the world was still normal.” She said beginning to grow annoyed at the constant asking. Looking around, she instantly was relaxed by the tranquil nature scene. 

Their camp was by a large river, which was gushing loudly and clearly beside them, providing a pleasant melody as background music. The sky was a cloudless radiant blue, the trees only beginning to show the smallest hint of browning. A chorus of small songbirds chirped in the air, and the rustle of small woodland creatures could be heard in the bushes. The smell of pine and grass and fish permeated the air, and it gave Marinette an overall cheerful feeling. It was unusually warm that day as well, so neither girls had their jackets on. 

“And remind me why you agreed to meet up with him again? He could be luring you into a trap, Mari!” She said, glaring at Marinette with disapproving eyes. 

“I’m not stupid, I’ll have my weapons with me. But he already had the chance to kill me and didn’t. Hell, he could’ve left me in the house with the zombies no problem! But nope, he boosted me up first.” She exclaimed, attempting to persuade her best friend that she wasn’t as stupid as she seemed. “I don’t know Alya, for some reason, I trust him. I can’t explain it, I just somehow know. You’re just going to have to trust my instincts on this one.” Marinette implored. Sighing, Alya finally relented.

“Fine, I’ll trust you. But please don’t get yourself killed.” Her best friend’s stare was completely somber, and Marinette knew one of them couldn’t handle losing the other. After experiencing hell on earth together, they were bonded for life and would never separate.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Marinette’s tone was completely serious as well, and Alya gave her a grateful smile. 

But unfortunately, a crash in the bushes ruined the perfection of the nature around them, and the girls scrambled to find their weapons. 

Alya immediately grabbed her double barrelled shotgun and Marinette snatched up her hatchet. They both trembled and tried to remain calm as they stared at the foliage from where the noise came, waiting for the inevitable groan of corpses wanting to feast on their flesh.

But, the noise never came. Instead, a teenage boy with orange headphones around his neck fell through and landed on his face in the dirt, laughing as he did so. A taller, golden-haired boy followed more gracefully than his friend a few seconds later. The girls didn’t relax their stances, and actually gripped their weapons tighter, but the boys hadn’t spotted them yet. 

“Dude, you totally tripped me!” The boy with the headphones said while standing up and brushing himself off, brandishing a distinct surfer accent. 

“I did not, you just fell on that branch!” The golden haired one replied in protest, a smile on his face. Then, he glanced up and spotted the two murderous girls and froze, tapping his friend on the shoulder. His friend turned around and spotted the girls as well, and took his friends lead and didn’t move a muscle.

“HEY!” Alya shouted threateningly. “What are you doing here!? This is OUR camp and we are armed.” Her tone was malevolent, but Marinette could tell she was shaking. Both boys raised their hands up in surrender. 

“Whoah! We just came to catch some fish from the river, we didn’t even KNOW there was a camp down here.” Headphones said. 

“We don’t mean any harm.” Goldilocks added in, his crystal green eyes wide with fear. Alya tightened the grip on the shotgun and walked towards them, jerking her head for Marinette to follow. They approached cautiously, carefully scrutinizing the boy’s movements. Goldilocks seemed familiar to Marinette for some reason, but she didn’t know why. 

“Goldilocks, Headphones, drop any weapons you’re carrying.” Alya threatened. Both boys did as they were told and dropped two pistols and two hunting knives. Alya then looked at Marinette. 

“Search them to make sure they aren’t hiding anything.” Marinette nodded, and she quickly patted Headphones down while still holding her hatchet. She found nothing and moved onto Goldilocks, who felt even more familiar up close. He seemed to feel some sort of recognition as well, as his eyes widened as she got closer. She hastily patted him down as well but found nothing at all, and walked back to Alya to inform her. The girl breathed a small sigh of relief, but kept her weapon trained on them. 

“You can put your hands down.” She said in a more relaxed tone. The boys did so very relieved. “Sorry for the pat down, can’t be too careful these days. Now, who are you and what are you doing here?” They glanced between each other, and Headphones elbowed his buddy nervously to answer. 

“Um... I’m Adrien, and this is Nino. Like we said, we’re just here to catch some fish and head back to our camp, we swear we didn’t know there was a camp here.” They were both scared shitless it seemed, and the both girls could tell he wasn’t lying. After staring them both down for a tense minute, Alya took the shotgun off of them but kept it in her hands, and Marinette followed suit. Both boys visibly relaxed and sighed with relief. 

“Fine, I believe you. I’m Alya and this is Marinette. Sorry about the intensity there, we’ve just been screwed over before and didn’t want to repeat history.” She said, holding out her hand to shake. The boy named Nino hesitantly held his hand out and they shook, which made the tension in the air instantly melt. “How old are you guys anyway? It’s unusual to see a fellow teenager these days.” 

“We’re both seventeen.” Adrien answered.

“Sixteen for the both of us.” Alya replied cooly, her demeanor much more casual now. Marinette found that she couldn’t stop staring at the boy named Adrien, her half-recognition of him beginning to irritate her. “Look, since we kinda just held you at gunpoint, wanna come over to our camp and sit down for a moment? You look like you’ve been walking a while.” Marinette was surprised by her friendliness, as she was normally more wary of strangers. But her judgement had always been correct, so Marinette trusted her. Both boys smiled. 

“Yeah, that’d actually be great, we walked all the way from the city so we’re kinda tired.” Adrien said, his green eyes glowing. The girls led them back over, making them leave their weapons on the ground. Alya didn’t offer them any food, she wasn’t that selfless, but she stirred the fire and boiled some more water to drink. Nino seemed to be admiring the rather cozy looking campsite.

“This is a pretty cool setup you guys have. How long have you been settled here?” 

“About three months now.” Marinette answered, surprising both of them by speaking. This whole time she had stayed quiet but she didn’t want to seem like Alya’s silent subordinate. “What about you? How long have you guys been in the city?”

“Only around a month, it’s not exactly the safest place to be.” Adrien said, smiling at her. It was then Marinette noticed how attractive he was, but still couldn’t place where she’d seen his face. 

“Yeah, I know. Yesterday I was scavenging in a house and in two seconds it was overrun by corpses. I was lucky I was able to shimmy out the window.” Marinette said, leaving out the part about Chat Noir. That would raise too many questions she didn’t feel like answering. 

“They seem to come out of nowhere, don’t they?” Adrien responded, his voice slightly distance as if he was thinking of something. 

“That’s how they won.” Alya muttered bitterly, silencing the casual conversation. The quiet stretched on for what seemed like an eternity, no one knowing how to respond to that blunt statement. Marinette decided to change the subject.

“So where are you guys from?” 

“We came from Paris, we were lucky to get out of the city when the first wave hit dude, the traffic was madness!” Nino exclaimed, grateful for the new topic.

“Wow, we came from Paris too. But Alya and I knew we couldn’t get through the throng of cars, so we barricaded ourselves in my parent’s bakery for about a month…” She trailed off, her voice getting quieter. Great now you’ve made things awkward again, good job. The boys looked at her sympathetically and Alya stared at her with knowing. 

“What bakery was it? Maybe we knew it?” Adrien suggested, changing the subject yet again. 

“It was the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie on Gotlib Street.” Marinette said without thinking. How odd that she even remembered the street it was on when there was no use for that information anymore.

“Oh yeah! I think I went in there once with some friends! Dude, that place had the best croissants!” Nino praised enthusiastically. Marinette smiled thoughtfully.

“Yeah, my dad always knew how to make them just right.” She said wistfully, thinking of her parents. She and Alya never found out what happened to them, as they had been out to dinner when the first wave had hit and never came back. And although it was a mystery, it was easy to infer their fate. Not wanting the subject to become awkward again, Marinette continued the conversation. “Adrien, you look really familiar to me, have we met?” He looked at her, very surprised that she seemed to be thinking the same thing. Nino began to laugh. 

“Oh yeahhh! Dude, Adrien here was a big model for his dad’s clothing company back in the day. Gabriel Agreste? Ever heard of him? Adrien was the face of the company, you probably saw his posters all over Paris!” Nino explained. It all clicked and Marinette remembered seeing a billboard for some perfume or something with this blonde boy’s face on it. 

“Wow! Gabriel Agreste? I was such huge fan of him, I used to want to be a fashion designer. I always watched the live streams from the runway shows.” Marinette reminisced. They all laughed at the coincidence. “It’s weird to think that only a year ago I used to care about such silly things.”

“We all did Mari. It was how the world worked. No one was fighting for survival so with our free time we focused on trivial things like makeup and fashion and TV and movies.” Alya surmised. The group nodded in agreement. 

After that, they ended up talking for the next few hours, getting along splendidly. The girls found out Nino and them had even gone to the same school, but Adrien had been homeschooled. They spoke about an array of topics, from celebrities to movies to homework. Then, when it started getting dark out, the boys realized they had done no fishing and still had to walk home. But they all knew nighttime was when it was most dangerous. 

So in a surprising act of generosity, Alya invited them to stay in their camp for the night. As weird as it was, sleeping outside was too dangerous so they’d all have to squeeze into the same tent. Thankfully the large green tent was roomy enough for four.

Marinette ended up being squished between Alya and Adrien but was perfectly warm even in the cold autumn night. The girls had been worried about inviting two boys into a tent with them, but they were nothing but perfect gentlemen and kept thanking them profusely for letting them stay. So then, with her new friends by her side, Marinette fell asleep with ease.

The next morning Alya finally offered the two starving boys some food, to which they gratefully accepted. They finally went fishing that day, and gave two of the fish they caught to the girls as a thank you gift. Then, the time came for the new unlikely friends to leave.

“Are you sure you’ll be safe?” Marinette asked worriedly and the boys packed up their supplies.

“Yeah Mari, we’ll be fine dude! We were able to trek all the way out here without any problems so I doubt we would have any on the way back!” Nino responded cheerfully. The whole group was happier at making new friends, as a sense of companionship always brought joy to the soul. 

“Okay, but if you guys get into any trouble you can always come back here, got it?” She told them in a very maternal tone. 

“We know, thank you guys so much for everything. I’m really glad we ran into you.” Adrien said gently while smiling, and Marinette began to blush.

“Yeah dude, totally! Even if you guys held us at gunpoint and gave us a pat down first! No hard feelings about that by the way, we probably would’ve done the same.” Nino reassured the girls. Then, they all hugged, knowing there was always the chance they wouldn’t see each other again. Marinette’s cheeks reddened even more when she hugged Adrien, and she was glad he didn’t notice. It was ridiculous to her, especially in the apocalypse, but the girl couldn’t help but admire his gorgeous face and kind words and not be nervous around him. Then, they walked away, leaving the girls alone again as they watched their new friends disappear into the foliage from which they came, with streaks of orange still adorning the morning sky above. 

But then, Marinette remembered something. She was supposed to meet Chat today! Her excitement welled up at the prospect of seeing her new friend again, and so she quickly got dressed and prepared to go scavenging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was really fun to write so I hope you enjoyed it! We all know that the boys would be terrified of Alya at first, she can be scary when threatened! And yes, we have introduced the frustrating clark kenting between Adrien and Marinette. Thank you so much for reading! Make sure to leave a comment about what you did or didn't like, I appreciate anything!


	4. Hope for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is excited for his date with a certain little bug ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I actually named a chapter for once!! Sorry this one's a bit shorter
> 
> WARNING FOR THOSE WHO ARE BOTHERED WITH GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF GROSS STUFF  
> There is some graphic descriptions involving zombie parts in this one (it's very brief, only one sentence) but if you are sensitive to stuff like that than tread with extreme caution please!!!

Adrien and Nino made their way through the thick underbrush, cursing as they were scratched and poked by branches galore. They had known they couldn’t stay at their new haven much longer, the two had already been a burden on the girls enough. So reluctantly, the boys left back to their city camp, and discussed their next plans.

“So like Agreste, do you think they would mind if we packed up and set up our own camp next to theirs? I’m tired of living in the city man, it smells awful and we’re always in danger. Mari and Alya got a pretty sweet setup!” Nino said, staring off into space imagining the bright future. Adrien imagined it and thought it sounded great, being in nature with little worry about corpses, plus being near their new friends. 

“I don’t think they’d mind, as long as we provided for ourselves. I still feel guilty about eating some of their food this morning.” Adrien said, rubbing his stomach that served as a reminder to their meal. 

“Yeah me too, but I was about to pass out from hunger! At least we gave them fish to make up for it.” His friend responded. Adrien thought about the idea of returning more and more, and it seemed like a perfect plan.

“Yeah that was a good idea. I think when we get back to camp we should scavenge a ton, pack up our stuff, and head out there again and propose forming a survivor group. We’ll have more protection that way, I don’t like the thought of just the two of them out there all alone. It makes me uneasy.” Adrien trailed off, lost in thought. 

“That sounds like a great plan dude! That’s exactly what we’ll do! But I’m pretty sure they can handle themselves, admit it, we were both shitting ourselves when Alya held the shotgun on us!” Nino laughed. “Hey, maybe you could even invite your Ladybug friend to join the group as well.” He added in, waggling his eyebrows at Adrien. Adrien gasped, having forgotten all about that.

“Oh no! I’m supposed to meet her today! Nino we gotta get back to camp quickly, I don’t want her to think we died or something!” 

“Whoa chill Agreste, we’ll be back before noon. You’ll be able to meet your lady friend in time. But besides her, didn’t you think our new friends were cute?” They both laughed at this, relaxing into the bro talk that used to be so common between them. 

“Yeah they were. I noticed you eyeing Alya a lot bud.” Adrien teased his friend, punching his arm lightly.

“Okay, you got me, I think she’s more than cute. Maybe it’s just ‘cause they’re the first girls our age I’ve seen in a while but Alya is pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. And don’t try to deny you thought Marinette was real pretty as well.” He replied, punching Adrien in the arm in return. 

“I mean yeah I think she’s pretty, but I just keep thinking about Ladybug…” He trailed off dreamily.

“Well you’ll get to see her today loverboy. Now let’s hurry up and get back to camp dude, these woods are giving me a creepy feeling.” They quickened their pace and jogged the whole way back. When they arrived, they saw their camp had indeed taken on a few unwelcome visitors. It was only two of them, shambling around with the skin sloughing off their bodies. The boys hesitantly approached the entrance to the alley, and prepared themselves. 

“I’ll get the one on the left, you go for the right.” Adrien whispered feverently to Nino. Nino nodded and they both took out their hunting knives, not wanting the noise of a bullet to draw the attention of more of the creatures. Counting down on his fingers, the two stealthily approached them from behind. His heart beat frantically in his chest as he took a deep breath, then with one swift movement, Adrien slid his knife in the back of the body’s head like butter and the thing collapsed. Gooey bits of brain matter and brown blood were left on his knife to which he grimaced, and he glanced over to see that Nino had already done the same to the other zombie. No matter how often they did this, the feeling was always the same. The terror and disgust when you realized this was once a person, someone who had people who loved them and cared for them, and you just bashed in their brain. They disposed of the bodies quickly, dragging them out of the alleyway and assessed the damage on their camp. Nothing seemed out of place besides the fact that their tent had collapsed. Working together, the boys put their camp back together exactly how it had been. Then checking the time, Adrien realized he needed to go. 

He found his coat, cat ears, and goggles exactly where he had left them and put them on as quickly as possible. He ran his fingers through his hair, uncharacteristically nervous about his appearance. Nino noticed and snickered at the tall blonde, but didn’t say anything. After making surehe had everything he needed, Adrien grabbed his scavenging pack and practically ran to the meeting place, eagerly awaiting the second when he would see his Lady again.


	5. Shit goes down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir meet up again to go scavenging and everything seems to be going well, but nothing ever goes well in the zombie apocalypse...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE SUPER LONG HIATUS!! I gave up on this fic a long time ago but have just now come back to it thanks to a certain commentator (you know who you are ;)) Turns out I had this chapter practically finished when I came back, so it wasn't that hard to finish it up. 
> 
> AND BOY HAVE I COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading this and I'll provide a link to my tumblr in the bottom notes if you want to message me or anything! I love hearing from you! I forgot how fun it was to write my babies in the zombie apocalypse!! Love you all! <3

Marinette ran to the meeting spot, her heart ready to burst with excitement. She had no idea why she was so ecstatic at the prospect of seeing the silly cat she had met one time again, but she couldn’t help the bubbles of happiness that exploded within her at the thought. The cold wind rushed by her and her polka-dotted coat flew out behind her like a cape, making her think she was some kind of superhero. She smiled at that thought, she knew superheroes didn’t exist (if they did the world certainly wouldn’t be in this mess) but the idea of someone saving the day filled people with hope. Hence why they were so popular in the media before it all came to an end. Marinette quickly got off that train of thought, knowing it would lead straight into Depressedville, and decided to skip that route all together. 

Her frantic pace slowed as she came upon the house she had been at two days prior, and a jolt of fear went through her chest when she saw no one there. Thoughts of Is he okay? Was he hurt? Is he dead? flashed through her mind. Ladybug creeped upon the spot slowly, surveying the area with caution before she proceeded. Then a huge weight lifted off her shoulders when she saw blonde figure clad in black running towards her like a speeding bullet, kicking up dust in his wake. She laughed and leaned against the wall in a pose of mock confidence, and Chat Noir approached, his breathing ragged. 

“You ran all the way here?” She asked incredulously, raising her eyebrows. Her looked up at her, bent over and panting, his green eyes lit up with some emotion she couldn’t identify, but it was something akin to joy. 

“You’re… here…” He said in between breaths.

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be? I mean you did save my life and all.” 

“No… you saved mine… I wouldn’t have seen the window in time.” He straightened up, his breathing returning to normal. It was then she noticed just how much taller he was than her, and it was quite a difference. “I just thought maybe something happened to you or you wouldn’t want to come meet a stranger.” He blushed, and Ladybug couldn’t help but giggle to herself at his embarrassment. 

“Well as you can see I’m perfectly fine and very present. So you ready to go? I know some places that probably still have some loot in them, I never went in them because they were too sketchy to scavenge alone.” She looked down as she said this. 

“That sounds wonderful my Lady, lead me to these places!” He said, puffing out his chest in bravado fashion. Ladybug giggled and began to climb up to the roof of the house they were next to, while Chat just stared blankly at her.

“You coming Kitty?” She asked playfully, standing confidently on the roof tiles.

“We’re… we’re travelling by roof?” 

“Yeah, you mean to say you’ve never done that before? It’s not that hard, the houses in this area are really close together, plus it’s much safer than travelling by ground.” Her beaming smile was impish, her eyes glinting with mischief. Chat Noir smirked and began to climb up.

“Okay but I’ve never- oof!- done this before so I might fall.” He warned, struggling to get up. Ladybug reached her hand out and he took it, and using whatever hidden strength she had, the tiny girl hauled him up rather clumsily. 

“Don’t cats always land on their feet?” Her tone was full of mischief and teasing, and Chat couldn’t help but laugh a bit at her obvious excitement. 

“Why of course we do! It’s just different when the undead is shambling around below.” They laughed at the dark joke, and Ladybug took off while Chat struggled to keep up. She leaped from roof to roof, her feet as light as a feather. At first she had to slow down for her companion, but he quickly got the hang of it. They ran several blocks across the houses while the zombies shuffled and walked cluelessly down below. They crossed into the desolate ruins of what once appeared to be an affluent neighborhood, once large and grand houses turned into lifeless shells of what they once were. Ladybug stopped once they were across the street from the largest of all the buildings, a grandeur representation of the wealth it’s former inhabitant had. Breathing heavily, the duo stopped and caught their breath. 

“Ok this is it I’m pretty sure this place in unraided, the front gate is tall enough to keep most people out. So we are going to have to get to the roof of the house next door and leap over the fence.” Ladybug explained to a still breathless Chat. 

“How… are… we going… to get to the… roof?” He asked, gasping for air in between words. Ladybug just smiled at him, her blue eyes practically glowing with trickery and mischief behind her goggles. 

“Follow me.” She uttered with a large smile plastered across her face, clearly excited about her plan. She leaned over the edge of the roof, and surveyed the ground below. Seeing there were only a couple of zombies below, she gestured for Chat to get closer to her. He did and she put her hand up to her lips, indicating to remain silent. She was frightened and shaking inside, having only done this once before, but she kept her cool and took out her hatchet. Chat followed suit with his knife, and she pointed at the corpse below, his confused eyes widened as he registered what they were going to do. She prepared herself, planning her trajectory. It wasn’t a large drop, she just didn’t want to miss. Then she counted down from three on her fingers.

3 fingers.  
2 fingers.  
1 finger.

The last finger disappeared and the team leaped down in perfect unison, their weapons landing directly in the creature’s brains. The momentum only helped to further drive the blades into the skulls, and without struggle the corpses were lifeless once more. 

“That was awesome!” Chat declared ecstatically, holding his hand up for a fist bump. Ladybug returned it, smiling although her heart was still pounding from the adrenaline. “Where did you learn to do that?” 

“In all honesty, I’m not sure. I think I might’ve seen it in a zombie movie though.” She tried to keep a straight face but they both cracked up laughing at the irony of that. “We have to go now, follow my lead.” She said once they finished. She moved silently like a shadow across the street, and right to the house next to their target. They climbed in through another blasted out window, and made their way through the empty space.

Dirt and ash was floating in the air like glitter, the walls were washed out with the grey sky. Broken picture frames lay shattered on the ground, the photos inside indistinguishable because of the blood staining them. They made their way up the stairs cautiously, heavy breathing and footsteps being the only noise made in the silent limbo they seemed to have found themselves in. Brown blood was spattered on the walls in a haphazard fashion, like a macabre decoration, and Ladybug didn’t want to think about what had occurred here. The air was thick with tension and fear, the joyous mood of earlier completely erased. But that didn’t deter either of them, and they kept walking.

They reached the second floor and found much of the same thing. Empty beds with sheets ripped off long ago, brown blood dotting everything like a Jackson Pollock painting. After searching several rooms Ladybug found what she was looking for, a balcony. With a silent breath of relief, she made her way over and stepped through the open doors. 

“Perfect.” She whispered to herself when she saw it would be easy to get to the roof. “Chat, I need you to boost me up.” She said to the preoccupied boy. It seemed he was investigating the only framed photo that wasn’t broken. She stepped over to where he was and saw the photo herself, the mood turning into one of despair. 

It was a family photo that depicted two thirty-something women holding hands together, along with two little boys sitting in front of them. The boys were young, only toddlers it seemed, with angel-like cherub cheeks and small pudgy limbs, their faces filled with euphoria as the sunshine made shadows on their faces. Both mother’s eyes were glowing with joy as well as they gazed down at their two sons, sunny grins adorning both of the beautiful faces. They seemed so happy, so perfect. Marinette thought to herself. 

“I… I wonder what happened to them.” Chat said quietly, both mourning for the loss of this beautiful family neither of them knew. 

“I think we can guess from the blood downstairs.” Marinette replied gloomily. Then she grabbed his arm to pull him away. “We… we gotta go now, come on cat.” He silently followed her to the balcony and boosted her up to the roof, and she pulled him up alongside her. The colder air outside clearing their heads, they shook off the depression that had stuck to them from seeing the photo. Marinette, you can’t think like that. There are millions of families just like that who met the same fate, nothing you can do about it now except survive for the human race. She told herself. The duo overlooked the fence that was now below them, pondering what to do next.

“So where do we go from here LB?” He asked her, his voice warming up again. 

“You’re not gonna like this, but we’re gonna have to jump.” He gaped at her and after a brief argument over how to do this logically, Ladybug finally convinced him that jumping was their best option. 

“Just relax your body and roll. It’ll be fine. It’s not that high anyway. Here, I’ll go first.” She stepped forward, putting on an act of confidence. She was glad she was able to hide her trembling hands in her pockets. She looked down below, seeing the soft grass that would hopefully cushion her fall. With her heart like a jackhammer, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Then closing her eyes, Ladybug tensed her muscles, bent her knees, and leaped. 

The air blew past her face and she felt her coat fly out behind her. Marinette opened her eyes to find she was in midair and the ground was quickly closing in. Relaxing her muscles, she jolted as her feet touched the hard ground and a small wave of pain came with it, and she instinctively rolled forward into a somersault. After a stunned moment, Marinette looked around and saw the fence behind her, and let out a squeal of joy as she realized she had made it safely to the ground. Marinette quickly checked herself for injuries and found none other than her stinging feet, and turned around to her partner on the roof, staring at her apprehensively. Giving him a thumbs up she yelled,

“I’m fine! Now get on over here you silly chaton!” He smiled widely and immediately leaped, landing beside her with a loud thud in similar fashion. 

“Ow. That hurt my feet.” He complained after a moment of getting himself together. 

“Oh you’re fine. Now come on we’re burning daylight.” Ladybug jumped to her feet and took off to the large mansion. Chat scrambled to his feet to catch up with her, and although the front door was unlocked, they broke a window with a rock and climbed in. Once inside, the two were all business to gather supplies, although they were both dumbfounded at the grand opulence displayed before them. 

The rich thick carpet with detailed designs on it was still clean, expensive sculptures and painting adorned the walls and tables. A grand wooden staircase dominated the foyer. But the walls were gray and white with shadows playing at the corners, the only light being the sun. It all seemed untouched by the craziness going on right outside the large french doors, as if time inside had been frozen in a picture. 

“This place is… surreal. Why is it so pristine? Where are the owners?” Chat asked warily.

“My guess is they fled as soon as things started going south, and didn’t bother to bring anything with them. They probably thought it would be over in a week.” Ladybug deducted. Chat nodded and they went to work.

Ladybug went to the kitchen while Chat checked the rest of the downstairs, although they both highly doubted anything of danger to them was inside the house. The kitchen was just as grand as everything else, with dusty granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. She located the pantry quickly, and opened it to find many cans of food covered in a thicker layer of dust and soot. Her eyes widened at the spectacle and she immediately opened her bag and began filling it with as much as she could carry. 

“Chat! You have to check out this gold mine!” She shouted. He was immediately by her side and he gasped at all the food. 

“This… this could keep us fed for a year…” He said in wonder. Ladybug stood up then, her bag bulging with canned fruit, beans, and vegetables. 

“Fill up your pack with as much as you can carry without it being too heavy to run with. I’m gonna go upstairs and see if there is any medicine.” She said, walking away. But before she could get far, Chat noticed all the water bottles in there she had left behind. 

“Wait, don’t you need to take some water also?” 

“No, my friend and I have a bunch stockpiled already. Our camp is next to a river so we can just boil some whenever we need it. Take as much as you need.” She ran upstairs quickly leaving Adrien to wonder if it was just coincidence or not that she was also next to a river. Then he realized that it was probably a popular thing to make a base by, and didn’t think about it further.

Marinette stepped slowly up the wooden stairs, wincing at every creak that was so loud it sounded like thunder in the silent building. Once up, she quickly located a small bedroom with an attaching bathroom, and opened the medicine cabinet above the still clean sink. She almost squealed with glee at the sight of painkillers, and went to pocket it when she hesitated. Chat deserves some too, you should check the other bathrooms to make sure there’s more. Her conscious chastised her. Weaving her way through the many rooms, she finally came across the master bedroom. 

The large space was dominated by a huge bed with a white canopy above. The sheets all made up perfectly as if in a hotel room. Ladybug walked into the adjoining large bathroom, complete with two sinks and a huge whirlpool bathtub. 

“If only the water still worked… oh it’d be heavenly to take a bubble bath.” She muttered to herself, daydreaming about the luxury that she had once taken for granted. Shaking herself out of her fantasies, she reminded herself she had a job to do and began rifling through the medicine cabinets. She tossed aside beauty creams and ointments and pocketed a bottle of rubbing alcohol, but found no other bottles of the elusive painkillers. After searching everything twice, she still came up empty handed for what she most wanted. Sighing, she held the pills in her hand, debating what to do. I could just say I didn’t find any painkillers, he would believe me, he wouldn’t have any reason not to. Alya and I could use these- Her inner monologue was cut off by the sound of a groan that was all too close. 

She turned around and saw a zombie reaching for her, and ducked out of the way just in time to avoid its rotted hand. She backed away and realized she was going further into the bathroom rather than out but the corpse was blocking the entrance. Frantically, Marinette reached to her belt for her hatchet, but her hand only found empty air. Her heart skipped a beat as the realization that she had put it down when grabbing the food hit her. Panicking, she lifted her foot and kicked the encroaching monster right in the chest, but that only backed it up a little bit. 

Scrambling, Marinette looked around for something, anything that could help her out of this situation. Unfortunately, there was nothing heavy enough to inflict any damage upon her undead assailant. It kept approaching, its rotten stench filling up her nose enough to make her gag. She backed up some more and her legs hit against the tub. She was trapped. 

The corpse came closer, groans escaping the decomposing windpipe with odd gurgles. Her heart practically beat out of her chest as she kicked the thing back once more, and the realization that she couldn’t get out of this one hit her. The zombie grabbed her wrist, and using her strength, she heaved the thing onto the ground as a last ditch effort to save herself. 

Instead of her falling on top of it though, the unthinkable happened. 

Using some form of sentience Marinette hadn’t know they possessed, it used the momentum to it had to push her down, and her head hit the tile table top with a sickening thud. 

And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWAHAHAHA NO ONE IS SAFE
> 
> Sorry for the cliffhanger but I figured if I'm coming back from the dead on this (haha get it?) I might as well do it with a bang
> 
> Thanks so much for those who have actually stuck with this, I love you all so much and please recommend this to others and comment if you enjoyed! 
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/
> 
> PLEASE MESSAGE ME I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU


	6. Black Cat's Help Keep the Cold at Bay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Ladynoir shippers have feels (at least I did)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD TWO CHAPTERS IN THE SAME NIGHT WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT?! 
> 
> I have fallen back in love with writing this (at least for now) but my tastes tend to shift rather quickly so don't bet on anything. Also if you want a more enhanced reading experience I'd recommend just replaying the umbrella scene music over and over again (that's what I mainly listened to while writing this) 
> 
> AND HOLY CRAP I WAS GIVING MYSELF THE FEELS

_“Marinette? Could you hand me that tray of croissants?” Her father asked, gesturing towards fluffy piles of dough on the counter._

 

_“Sure Papa!” She quipped back cheerfully, handing the smooth metal tray to him. He smiled, wrinkles crinkling at the corners of his eyes._

 

_“Thank you Mari.” He said, putting the tray in the oven. “And now, we wait.” Marinette took a deep breath, relishing the sweet scent of cooking pastries._

 

_“So kiddo, how’s school been lately?” Her dad asked, beginning work on another pile of dough. She took her place next to him, sprinkling flour out to roll out smaller pieces._

 

_“It’s going good, I made a new friend this week. Her name’s Alya, she’s new this year and she’s really cool.” Marinette sunk her hands into the cool, mushy dough and began to knead._

 

_“That’s great! You’ll have to invite her over sometime, I’m sure she’d love to try some of our macarons.” Her father said kindly._

 

_“I bet she would. Everyone loves your macarons Papa!” Suddenly, a feeling of sadness overcame her, like these simple times wouldn’t last much longer. Extricating her hands from the sticky dough, Marinette wrapped her arms around her dad as much as she could, and he laughed in surprise._

 

_“What’s this for kiddo?” He asked cheerfully._

 

_“I dunno, I just love you.” She mumbled into his shirt. She felt him pulling his hands out from the sticky sweetness as well, and wrapped his large arms around her tiny frame._

 

_“I love you so much, you’re such a good kid, you know that?” She nodded without pulling away, feeling happy and safe. The feeling continued for a moment, before suddenly her father began to squeeze her tighter and tighter._

 

_“Papa… Papa stop you’re hurting me!” Marinette yelled, looking up. She screamed._

 

_Instead of her dad, a gigantic rotting body was hugging her, its form vaguely similar to that of her father. She tried to escape, panic alighting her every nerve as the breath was forced from her body._

 

_Then, she blacked out._

 

Marinette’s head swam as she slowly rose from the depths of unconsciousness. Her skull ached as she tried to recall where she was, and why she felt like shit.

 

Oh.

 

Oh no.

 

The zombie.

 

How was she alive?

 

And what was that horrible nightmare?

 

Blinking bleary eyes open, she saw the familiar white ceiling of the grand house above her. She felt someone sitting next to her, and tried to sit up only to have another wave a pain wash over her the moment she moved her head.

 

“No no no don’t move.” Marinette heard a voice say. Her foggy brain didn’t recognize it until the owner of the voice popped up in her field of vision, his green eyes tight with worry behind a pair of black goggles.

 

“Chat Noir.” She breathed, feeling relieved that he was okay, but her hands still trembling from the dream.

 

“Yeah don’t worry, I’m right here. Don’t move, I’m not sure how hard you hit your head when you fell.” With light fingers, he brushed a sore spot on her skull. She winced and he pulled back.

 

“W-what happened? How am I even alive?” Ladybug asked, her voice hoarse.

 

“Well I came in at just the right moment it seemed. I heard a zombie as I was looking for you, and walked in right when you fell and slammed your head. I threw that thing off you and shoved my knife in its face. I didn’t see any blood but you didn’t wake up, so I just have been kinda waiting here. I also didn’t want to leave you on the hard floor though, so I carried you over to the bed.” His face was full of concern and fear, and his voice seemed close to breaking. He had clearly been very shaken up by the whole event, and she felt horrible for scaring him.

 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

 

“It’s okay, I was just… I was just really scared you weren’t going to wake up. Or that if you did, it would be as one of those _things_.” He shuddered involuntarily.

 

“I wasn’t bitten, was I?” Marinette asked in a trembling voice.

 

“No you weren’t, I checked your arms and legs and stuff so don’t worry.” Chat reassured her quickly.

 

“Thanks… look Chat?” Ladybug asked as a thought occurred to her.

 

“Yes m’lady?”

 

“If I ever get bit and pass out again… and it looks like I won’t wake up…” She gulped. “Please shoot me okay? I don’t wanna turn into one of those monsters.” Chat stared at her blankly for a moment, his mouth hanging open. Then he furiously shook his head.

 

“No, nope I can’t do that. I’m sorry but if there’s a chance you’re still alive, no way in hell am I going to kill you.” He stated, shaking his head back and forth continuously.

 

“Chat please, you don’t understand, if something happens to me I don’t want to hurt you!” Ladybug begged, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she recalled her nightmare.

 

“Trust me, you won’t. You’re too smart for that to happen.” He insisted, his voice taking on a desperate edge.

 

“No chaton, that’s not how the world works anymore. Anyone can be a genius and still get killed, no one survives by their wits these days, it’s all about dumb luck. Look at what almost happened today, if you’d shown up one minute later I’d be dead… or worse.” She said softly, reaching her hand up and rubbing the sad boy’s cheek gently. He opened his mouth as if to respond, but then closed it and sighed, leaning into her hand and shutting his eyes. After a few moments, she finally noticed how dark the windows were.

 

“Chat, is it nighttime?” She asked. He opened his bright eyes and glanced to the windows as well, and sighed.

 

“Yeah, like I said, I thought moving you was a bad idea but it got dark. I don’t think we can head back to our camps, it’s too dangerous to travel in the dark.” He said simply. Oh no, poor Alya had to be freaking out right now. She probably thought Marinette was dead or trapped, and the girl had no way of letting her best friend know she was alright.

 

But… Chat was right, it was way too dangerous to travel anywhere at night. So with a reluctant sigh, Marinette pulled her hand away from his face.

 

“I guess we’re staying here for the night?” She inquired softly.

 

“Yeah that’s what I was thinking, except for that one corpse this place is pretty secure. I checked the place out while you were passed out, of course I closed the door and made sure you were safe.” He added in the last part quickly, like she would get upset with him for leaving her while she was sleeping. Marinette glanced at the large bed she was sitting in, and noticed how he was only seated on the very edge next to her. So she patted the side next to her and his eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Come on, get into bed. We might as well sleep since we can.” She said casually.

 

“Oh, um, you’re okay with-like-you and me sleeping, like, in the same bed?” He stuttered, his face turning bright red underneath his goggles. He looked so adorably embarrassed that Marinette couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Okay first off, this bed is huge so I doubt we’ll be pressed right up against each other. Secondly, it’s safer to have us in the same room. And third, you had the chance to take advantage of me when I was unconscious and you didn’t, plus you’ve saved my life several times, so I trust you.” Marinette said matter of factly.

 

“Um sure if you’re okay with it.” He said shyly, clambering over onto the bed. She noticed the door to the bedroom was closed thankfully, but shivered as a cold draft passed over her. Slowly, Ladybug took off her boots and placed them on the floor, thankful no pain came from that. Then she lifted the blanket and adjusted under it, the musty smell making her cough. Next to her, she saw Chat doing the same and soon they were both snuggled underneath the blankets with their heads resting on the dusty pillows.

 

The sky darkened further, making it impossible to see anything in the room. Her goggles ached against her head, so she decided to whisper a question to her friend although she wasn’t sure if he was awake or not.

 

“Chat?” She whispered.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“These goggles are hurting my head so I’m gonna take them off, you can’t see me right?”

 

“No not at all, but if I may ask, why is it such a bad thing that we see each others faces?” She thought about that. Why was it such a big deal? It’s not like they were enemies, and they were sleeping in the same bed together for crying out loud. Just something made her not want to reveal who she was just yet.

 

“I… I don’t know. I just would rather not yet if that’s okay.” Marinette replied hesitantly. He was silent for a moment before responding.

 

“Of course it’s okay, if you don’t want to know who we are it’s fine.” His voice sounded hurt and she felt horrible. She took off her goggles and heard him sit up to presumably do the same, and she set them on the end table next to the bed. Then she took her hair out of her signature pigtails, and assumed Chat was taking his cat ears off as well. Then they both laid back down, and she scooted closer to him. Reaching her hand beneath the covers, she quickly found his hand and grasped it in her own.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt you, I’m just not ready.” Marinette whispered. His hand gripped hers back, and she heard him sigh.

 

“I get that you aren’t, and it’s fine I’ll wait until you are.” He replied quietly, his tone gentle. It was then she realized he had taken off his leather gloves as well, and felt his soft, warm, uncalloused skin in her own toughened hand. She shivered again as the unusually cold night seeped into her, even through the blankets, and she felt and hand grip her as Chat gently pulled her closer to him.

 

Before she knew what was going on, next thing Ladybug knew she was snuggling with Chat Noir. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t actually mind at all.

 

“Is this okay? If we share our body heat we’ll warm up quicker.” Chat whispered hesitantly.

 

“Yeah yeah this is fine.” She said with an invisible smile. As much as it frustrated her to admit it, she felt safe with this practical stranger’s arms around her. He relaxed and she nuzzled herself closer into the perfect little cocoon his arms seemed to make for her. After a few minutes, he lifted his arm and began running his fingers through her hair.

 

“Your hair’s down.” He commented quietly.

  
“The pigtails were hurting my head.” Marinette explained. He made a noise of understanding and she closed her eyes even though it offered no difference from when they were open. Finally feeling warm, Marinette began to doze off to sleep when she felt a gentle kiss on the side of her head. She didn’t react, simply smiled and continued to let herself doze off, and she listened as rain began to patter outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for angst in the semi-distant future kiddos 
> 
> And also I am Ladynoir trash as well as Adrienette trash so prepare for both
> 
> My tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com


	7. Adrien has his head in the Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ladybug is a risk taker and Adrien has some explaining to do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO ANOTHER UPDATE ONLY A DAY AFTER THE LAST ONE I AM ON A ROLL!!
> 
> Again this is super fun to write atm so yeah you can probably expect more updates (don't take my word for it though)
> 
> I love all the support I've been getting for this thank you all!

Soft sunlight filtered in through the foggy windows the next morning. Adrien’s eyes groggily flickered open and for a moment he forgot all about where he was, what was going on, and that the world had ended. For a brief moment he was just warm and cozy in his bed, dragging out the time before he had to get up for school. 

But as per usual, his mind didn't dwell on these fantasies for long before reality crept back in. 

Adrien sat up, stretching his arms as he looked to his right. Ladybug’s face was turned away from him, her short dark hair spilling out behind her onto the pillow. Her side rose and fell softly, indicating she was still asleep. 

He could do it. He could creep over and look at her face right now if he wanted, and she would never know. Just one peak, that's all, just so he knew what the girl he was falling for looked like.

No, he couldn't do that. She had told him she wasn't ready, and put her trust in him to respect that. Adrien wasn't going to betray that trust, that just wasn't the type of person he was. 

He ran a hand through his tangled hair and bent over to pull on his boots. As he laced them up, he heard rustling behind him as Ladybug stirred awake.

“Chat?” She asked sleepily while yawning.

“Good morning m’lady, how'd you sleep?” He inquired, not turning around.

“I slept… Really well actually. This bed is comfy.” She paused. “You didn't… See my face did you?” 

“No you were facing the opposite direction when I woke up.” He finished lacing up his boots and reached for his goggles without turning his head. He heard rustling behind him and assumed she was doing the same. After securing the black lenses over his eyes, he placed the cat ears in their familiar position. 

“You can turn around now.” She said quietly. Turning he saw Ladybug staring sleepily at him, her eyelids half closed behind the red goggles that were placed on top of her messy bed head (that she hadn't bothered to tie back again). A dopey smile alighted her face and Adrien couldn't help but think of how adorable she looked. 

“Hi.” He whispered.

“Hey.” She replied softly. Adrien couldn't help but think back to how the night prior they had practically cuddles under the thinly veiled excuse that being close to one another would keep them warm. 

“Is your head feeling better?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah, I think it's all good now.” She stopped and looked towards the door. “We need to get going. My friend is going to be freaking out.” His eyes widened as she said that, his mind having completely forgotten about Nino back at the camp. 

“Shit you're right. Come on let's finish raiding this place and get out of here.” They both stood up and stretched slightly. Chat could hear Ladybug’s joints popping as she sighed in relief. 

Ladybug approached the closed door to the bedroom and noticed the two backpacks resting against the wall. She opened hers and pulled out the hatchet that had almost led to her demise the day prior. She looked to Chat with surprise.

“Did you bring these up?” Ladybug asked.

“Yeah I wasn't going to leave your stuff out there.” He said as if it was obvious. Ladybug paused, rummaged in her pack, and looked up again.

“My pack wasn't filled this much yesterday.” Her tone wasn't upset or accusatory, just surprised.

“Well… Um there was plenty so I just kinda filled it up for you.” He said, feeling embarrassed for no reason. She stood up and began to walk towards him, and he didn't know what he did wrong. “I-I’m sorry if that was like rude or something I just thought I was-” He was cut off when the small girl’s body slammed into him, squeezing him in a deathly tight hug. Startled, Chat was still for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, and he could barely make out the words she mumbled into his chest.

“What did I do to deserve a friend like you?” He blinked, unsure of how to respond to that, and simply hugged her tighter instead. Minutes passed in silence, as the two simply took a moment to enjoy each other's company.

But they were on a time limit, and too soon Ladybug was pulling away. 

“Come on, we need to get going before my friend has a heart attack.” Chat hides his disappointment and the two picked up their bags, setting out of the house and facing the impenetrable wall yet again. They stared of the sheer stone face, and Chat Noir wondered why they hadn't thought about how to get out before they jumped in.

“Okay… So how fucked are we?” He questioned aloud, the cold breeze making him shiver.

“We’re actually fine. You know the gate opens from the inside right?” Ladybug asked with a smirk. Oh. He felt stupid now. Of course it would open. 

Ladybug confidently strolled over to the gigantic imposing black gates, and went over to where and electric panel with two buttons stood. 

“Um LB, I trust you but I don't think there's any electricity to work this.” Chat stated. 

“No there's not. But these things always have a manual lever thing in case of a power outage. We just have to find it.” Ladybug walked around the box, looking at seemingly nothing, before declaring a triumphant ‘found it!’ 

There, hidden in the bushes, was a large metal lever. Ladybug approached it with ease and tested it, her face squinting in strain as she tried to pull it. 

“Damn. Chat you're gonna have to help me with this.” Wordlessly, Chat went over and wrapped his hands underneath hers, their bodies pressing against each other. LB didn't seem to notice or care, but Chat was focusing on not breathing in the sweet sugary scent she always seemed to carry around with her, even in the zombie apocalypse. 

“Okay ready? 3, 2, 1, pull!” And with that the duo used their combined strength to pull the lever down. It was so much heavier than expected, but they were both strong from constantly being on the run. The metal creaked and the gates opened, and soon enough they were sitting there panting, staring at their accomplishment. 

“Good job, I couldn't have done that without you.” Ladybug said while panting. Adrien held up a fist in response, and they fist bumped joyfully. But then, the moment was ruined by the groans of zombies approaching the noise. 

“Oh shit! We can't let them get in here, this is the only secure place in the city!” Ladybug said. “Wait! I have an idea! But you're not gonna like it.” 

“What?” Chat asked with suspicion in his voice. 

“I need you to run out the gate and make sure none of the corpses get too close. Once you're out, I'm gonna push the lever back up and run out before the gates close.” 

“Oh hell no! You could get trapped in here!” Chat Noir protested. 

“No time to argue, it's fine I'm fast, just go!” And with that she shoved him towards the gate, but he didn't want to leave.

“No let me do it.” He insisted.

“Chat stop arguing, this isn't up for discussion! My pack is lighter so I'll be faster just GO!” Her voice was growing panicked as the moans came closer. With one final worried look, Chat ran out the gate and saw a horde of zombies approaching. His blood froze as he took out his knife, and he began to silently egg her on as he waited outside the imposing wall.

“I'm out come on!” He shouted. He heard her grunt and the gates began to close, and they were closing rapidly fast. Their immense weight was giving them momentum, and Chat watched as Ladybug sprinted. Suddenly he heard a groan behind him, and without thinking whirled around and stuck his knife right in the creature’s eye. Brown blood splattered onto Adrien’s face, and he was grateful he wore goggles. 

Turning back around, he saw the gates were almost closed. He began to panic as he saw Ladybug still running. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. Suddenly, she leaped towards the closing gate, and Chat reached out and helped yank her through with only inches to spare. Her momentum caused them both to fall on the ground, and the clang of the closing gates echoed throughout the street. 

They stared at each other, as Ladybug was on top of him, as they caught their breath. 

“Are you okay?” Adrien asked, slightly breathless. 

“Yeah, thanks for-” More groans cut her off and they realized the horde was still shuffling towards them. “No time for thanks yet, let’s go!” They both jumped up and ran past the crowd, and towards the buildings they had jumped off the day before. Chat hastily boosted her up, and she used her hidden strength to pull the teenager up with her. Within seconds they were on the roof and running towards their usual meeting place. 

The cold wind helped shake the remainders of sleep from his mind, but he could only think of how he would soon have to leave Ladybug again. The thought saddened him, and he drunk in her image with his eyes as she ran, her bright red boots slamming against each tile in a harsh but pleasant melody.

They approached the abandoned house, slowing as the two caught their breath. 

“So… This… Went longer… Than… Usual huh?” Ladybug said between gasps.

“Yeah… But… It was… Good.” That was true, both of their packs were bulging with cans of food they had scavenged from the mansion. They continued to breathe for a bit longer, the noise startlingly loud in the silence. Eventually, Ladybug gulped and stood up, and faced Adrien.

“I don't know how to thank you enough, you saved my life twice in one day. I owe you.” 

“It's fine really, you saved my life the first day we met so I was just repaying the favor. Plus I mean that's what you do with friends.” Adrien really didn't understand why she seemed so surprised, was it really that rare to save a friend's life in this world? If so then maybe the human race deserved to die out, because if we couldn't even help each other in the end of the world, then what hope did we have?

“Well I still owe you one then. But I really should get going now.” She looked at the brightening sky anxiously. 

“Me too. But when are we going to meet again?” She bit her lip at this as she thought.

“How about in a week? Things should've cleared out by then.” He nodded. Even though he didn't want to wait this long to see her again, it made sense. Then her eyes lit up with an idea and she reached in her pocket, pulling out of all things, a bottle of painkillers. His eyes widened.

“Here. Take them. You've done so much for me it's the least I can do.” Adrien didn't want to take them all, he felt it was unfair and that they should split them, but he could tell by her hard expression that any attempt at doing that was futile. So he reluctantly held out his hand and took them, and placed them in his coat pocket. It felt like a block of lead, but he knew Nino would be thrilled with the score. Then they stood awkwardly for a moment, and Adrien decided to hug her.

She squeezed him back tightly, and he breathed in her sweet scent knowing that it might be the last time. Anytime two people went separate ways in this world, there was always a chance it would be the last time they saw each other. Eventually, she pulled away and then hesitated, her blue eyes glittering with worry. Suddenly, she jumped up and kissed his cheek lightly before instantly running away. He stood in shock, trying to comprehend what had just occurred as her figure turned hazy in the distance.

~~

Adrien came back to his and Nino’s camp in a daze. She had kissed his cheek! What did that mean? Did she feel the same way about him that he felt about her? Was that even possible when they didn’t even know each other’s real names?

These romantic thoughts carried him along until he literally fell into Nino’s lap.

“Holy shi- ADRIEN?!” Nino shouted, looking at him as if he was seeing a ghost. Adrien smiled sheepishly, knowing he had some explaining to do.

“Hey Ni-” He was cut off when Nino grabbed him in a painfully tight hug.

“Where were you bro?! I thought you were dead!” Nino's voice was desperate and Adrien wasn't sure if he was trying to embrace him or choke him. 

“I'm so sorry, Ladybug and I got stuck in a house overnight. I'm so so sorry.” 

“I was freaking out man, I thought you had gotten chomped! And here you were with your little scavenging friend?!” Nino pulled away and glared at him, but Adrien could tell it was to hide the terror. 

“I am extremely sorry, I swear I wouldn't have stayed out if I didn't have any other option.” Nino’s glare melted, and Adrien felt awful seeing the worry he'd caused his best friend. 

“Just… Just don't ever fucking do that again dude.” Nino said, pulling him back into a hug. Adrien hugged him back, reflecting on how much they'd gone through together, even though they had only met on the day the world went to shit. 

After a few moments, the two separated. Adrien removed his goggles and cat ears, and Nino stared at him expectantly. Sighing, Adrien resettled himself to a more comfortable position and took a deep breath, and began telling Nino the whole tale of the crazy adventure he had had with his lady.

What felt like hours later, Adrien finally finished with how he tripped over Nino coming into the alley. The DJ gaped at him a few moments before returning to his senses.

“I let you go off with a girl ONE time and this is the kind of shit you get into?!” He exclaimed with an exasperated sigh. 

“Okay I’m sorry dad.” Adrien replied, putting emphasis on ‘dad’. 

“It’s fine my annoying cat son. Anyway, please tell me you actually got us food this time.” Adrien grinned widely as he dragged the heavy backpack in between them. He opened the black bag and began taking out can after can after can, and watched with amusement as Nino’s face slowly morphed into awe. 

“How much food did this place have?!” He demanded, grabbing one of the cans of beans as if it were buried treasure.

“I told you, the super tall gates made the place an impenetrable fortress. If it wasn’t so hard to get in and out of I’d suggest setting up a base there.” He imagined him and Nino living in that huge palace, just the two of them, and it seemed extremely lonely. Then he remembered something. “Hey, speaking of making bases, are we still going to make camp next to Alya and Marinette?” 

“That’s what the plan was, at least until you decided to spend the night snuggling in a bed with your girlfriend.” 

“Hey she’s not my girlfriend,” At least not yet, his mind helpfully provided. He pushed the ridiculous thought away, if she didn’t want to even show him what she looked like, why would she want a relationship with him? “Anyway I have something that’ll make you freak.” He pulled out the painkillers, slamming them down with a satisfied smile. Nino grinned widely, snatching them up and opening the lid. He held one of the small red pills like it was a tiny miracle, and popped it in his mouth with a happy moan. Then he held the bottle out to Adrien as an offer.

“You want some?” 

“Nah I’m good for now, we don’t wanna waste them.” Nino nodded and closed the lid. “Anyway, so are you good for moving camp today? I’m getting kind of sick of the city.” The DJ looked around at their pitiful base, and nodded eagerly. 

“I hate it here too, let’s pack up and we’ll eat some food on the way.” Adrien nodded and the boys eagerly packed their base, wanting to get back to their mini-paradise as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this wasn't that long, I just didn't want to shove in the whole move-in thing with the girls which would cause this chapter to become WAY TOO LONG
> 
> Also sorry for those who wanted to see Alya's reaction to Marinette's overnight escapade, but I think we can all imagine how pissed she was instead (RIP Marinette lol)
> 
> Thanks again for reading and don't forget to share this with your friends! 
> 
> My tumblr (I LOVE TALKING TO YOU DON'T BE SHY): http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	8. They find Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Nino set up their camp next to Marinette and Alya, and to celebrate Alya reveals some wine she still has...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sorry this wasn't super fast but I've been working on so many different pieces like I started a new Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood fic (Ishvalan AU in case you wanna check it out), PLUS I wrote another chapter for Punches and Love (my ML fight club au) AND I just began a new original story (and also I have like two giant crossover fics that I write for shits and giggles but most likely won't post)
> 
> Drunken kids are adorable
> 
> Also this will involve underage drinking (if you're American) so I mean if you're bothered by that then consider yourself warned but these kids are French meaning they would be of legal age to drink (the age is 16 I think to buy wine and beer and 18 to buy hard liquor)
> 
> AND SPECIAL THANKS TO JEWEL MY AWESOME NEW BETA READER SHE AND I HAVE A LOT OF MANIACAL PLANS FOR THIS SERIES MWAHAHA

The boys made the trek through the city, this time using the rooftops as per Ladybug’s recommendation. Nino was a bit slower than Adrien, as he didn't do as much running around, but was able to keep up at a reasonable pace all the same. 

Several hours after their departure, the boys finally reached the edge of the trees. Adrien heard the babble of the river and sighed, letting the cool air relax him. They could already hear the voices of Marinette and Alya, although they couldn't make out what they were saying. 

Pushing back the leaves, Adrien walked out into the clearing with Nino trailing behind. Turning towards the girl’s campsite, they saw Alya and Marinette had their backs turned as they discussed something. 

“Alya! Marinette!” Nino called out. The two girls whipped around and they stared at the boys in shock for a moment, before leaping up and running at them at full force. Alya football tackled Nino while Marinette tripped and fell right on top of Adrien, making them fall to the ground. 

“Oh my god you guys are here!” Alya said, slight disbelief in her tone. 

“Yeah! We got sick of the city and decided to set up camp next to you guys, if that's okay of course.” Nino explained, struggling to breathe as the auburn-haired girl squeezed him to death. Marinette was blushing fiercely as she tried to extricate herself from Adrien while muttering apologies, but he just laughed and hugged her tight. As much as neither group wanted to admit it, they had all been mentally preparing themselves for the possibility of finding bodies instead of people. 

“Of course that's okay!” Alya shouted gleefully. 

“Awesome! Adrien here was thinking that we might be able to even join up into a group, you know, so we’d have larger numbers. Again, only if you want.” Nino said as him and Alya both stood. Adrien let go of Marinette and she smiled as she climbed off of him, and then reached out a hand to pull him up. He took the hand and was surprised by how easily she yanked him to his feet. She was clearly stronger than she appeared. 

“That sounds like an amazing idea.” Marinette said shyly, walking over and hugging Nino while Alya embraced Adrien. Relief coursed through Adrien’s veins that they agreed with his idea, and already felt safer at the prospect of being in a larger group. 

“You guys must be exhausted, here let’s sit and have some food. Mari brought back a huge haul from scavenging this morning.” Alya said. Her tone was cheerful but she gave a sharp look to Marinette, who gave her an apologetic shrug. 

“Adrien got a huge ass haul also, you should've seen how heavy his pack was! I mean, the idiot stayed out overnight collecting it all and gave me a heart attack, but it was plenty of food all the same.” Nino said as they sat down in front of the small fire. Marinette stiffened at that, and looked in shame to the ground as Alya turned a glare over to Adrien.

“Oh really? Then it seems like our children have similar habits because Marinette here did the exact same thing.” Marinette shrank back at her gaze as did Adrien, because Alya was terrifying when she was angry. The black-haired girl then absentmindedly rubbed at her cheek, which Adrien noticed had a red tinge to it. 

“I’m sorry, you know I would've come back if I could have.” She said quietly. Alya sighed, relented her death glare, and rubbed the girl’s back.

“I know hon, you just freaked me out is all.” Alya replied gently. Then she looked up at the boys, her brown eyes glittering behind her pristine-condition glasses. “You guys need help setting up your camp?” 

“Yeah that'd be awesome!” Nino said enthusiastically. For the rest of the day they group worked as a team, helping to set up a proper tent that Adrien had grabbed a couple months earlier that couldn't fit in the alley they occupied, and also helped build them a campfire. After hours of working in the sun, everyone was tired and hot as the sun set below the horizon. Everyone gratefully sat down, admiring the sparkling new campsite that sat right beside the girl’s. They all stared at each other for a moment, grinning at their victory, when Alya’s face lit up with an idea. She jumped into her and Marinette’s tent, and pulled out of all things, two bottles of wine. 

“I think this victory calls for celebration!” She declared, holding up the bottles triumphantly. The boys gaped, they hadn't seen any forms of alcohol since the whole apocalypse began, let alone wine of all things. Alya might as well have been holding up a bottle of the God’s nectar. 

She handed the bottle to Marinette, who pulled out a bottle opener from her backpack, and popped the cork with ease. Then Alya took it back after muttering a thank you, and held the bottle above all their heads. 

“I give a toast, to new friends and allies, to our safety, and to the end of the goddamn world!” They all cheered and Alya tipped the bottle, taking a large swig before handing it to Marinette. They all passed the wine around, taking drinks straight from the bottle as they had no glasses, and all quickly became intoxicated as a result. 

Topics switched from lighthearted and silly to the dark sense of humor anyone who had survived that long had developed. The first bottle was finished quickly, and the group decided in unison they were sufficiently drunk and didn't need to waste the second one. After hours of laughter and joking as the sun set and the stars came out, the conversation took a serious turn. 

“So you're positive that Samuel Jackson is still alive?” Alya asked, her words slurring slightly.

“Yeah dude of course! There's no way a freaking zombie could take him out!” Nino insisted. “I bet the dude is still kicking ass over in America.” They all laughed, even though no one knew for certain the state of any other countries besides their own. 

“Wait so, how the hell did you guys get out of Paris? Alya and I went to leave right after the first attack but the roads were already gridlocked.” Marinette asked slowly, trying to speak normally. Adrien and Nino glanced back and forth at one another as the mood turned from cheery to glum, and they silently decided Adrien should tell the tale.

“Well… When some of the first attacks started happening, I was in a park doing a photoshoot, I was a model remember? Anyway, I was just posing and kinda zoning out when all the sudden, out of nowhere a zombie appears and bites into the photographers neck.” He shuddered as he recalled the screams as his jugular vein bled out. “I didn't know what the fuck to do, so I just kinda stood there like an idiot while the zombie made a meal of the photographer. Then I heard this voice calling to me, yelling at me to run, so I did and I ran right into this doofus over here.” He punched Nino in the arm with a smile. 

“Then after that we ran and I led Nino to my house ‘cause it was nearby. My dad’s assistant, Nathalie, she let us in and threw us into an armored car that my bodyguard was driving,” the girls have him a surprised look and he sighed. “Yes I had a bodyguard, my dad was very overprotective. Anyway, I dunno how the hell he did it, but somehow the Gorilla, that's what I called the bodyguard, was able to get us out of the city. We stopped by Nino’s house to look for his family but they weren't there, so Nino left them a note with the satellite phone number and we drove away.” Nino looked down as Adrien said that, and the girl’s knew he never heard from his parents.

“The windows in the car were covered with like metal plating so we couldn't see outside. I don't know how long we drove for, but it felt like hours. When the Gorilla finally stopped the car because it had run out of fuel, it was night and we were in the middle of a forest. There were emergency supplies in the car so we waited things out for weeks, waiting to hear any news with the satellite phone the Gorilla had. Eventually our supplies started running low and so the Gorilla left to go find more… He never came back.” Adrien looked down, the memory still painful. “I never even learned his name…” He muttered quietly. Nino quickly realized it was better to take the story from there.

“So um anyway dudes, we didn't know what to do after like a week passed and no Gorilla showed up. We ran out of food and so we just walked until we came across some abandoned places. We raided them, found supplies, and have been on the move ever since.” Nino finished. Everyone was silent. Adrien thought back to how scared he and Nino had been, all the cold lonely nights just waiting for any news, and how guilty they felt leaving without the Gorilla. 

“I'm… I’m sorry.” Marinette said quietly. “I think we should go to bed, it's getting late.” They all nodded, all the drunken joy from earlier completely gone. 

“Night guys.” Alya murmured, everyone exchanging hugs. As Adrien hugged Marinette, he couldn't help but notice a sweet sugary smell emanating from her. If he had been sober, the blonde would've immediately noticed how the same smell came from Ladybug, but alas he was not, and simply went off to his tent with Nino. 

~~

The next morning the entire group woke with a dreadful hangover. Everyone stumbled out of their tents with bags under their eyes and hair askew. They all convened in front of the campfire, and stared at each other which bleary eyes. 

“Fuckkkkkk that was a bad idea.” Alya groaned. The others nodded in agreement. 

Since they now had plenty of food, thanks to Marinette and Adrien, the group spent the rest of the day relaxing and talking. It was nice to have a lazy day, as so much of their time was spent fighting for survival. In fact, the entirety of the next week was spent just relaxing and talking. The group became tightly knit, spending their days messing around either fishing, doing perimeter patrols, or playing games. Their nights were spent talking about anything and everything around the campfire. 

Alya and Nino found they had a lot in common, and began to spend more and more time alone. This left Adrien and Marinette alone with one another as well, and they quickly developed a close bond. 

Marinette found out they both loved the rock star Jagged Stone before the world went to shit. 

Adrien found out they both shared a deep love for chocolate croissants (even though he had been rarely allowed to indulge in such a treat). 

Marinette found out Adrien was still extremely kind and caring, even in the apocalypse.

Adrien found out Marinette still put on a brave face even after the terror she had endured, and still tried to be the best person she could be.

Marinette found out she was falling hard for Adrien Agreste.

Adrien found out that even though he was in love with Ladybug, he couldn't ignore his growing feelings for Marinette. 

But then the meeting time came, and Ladybug needed to go meet up with her Chat Noir. 

“I'm gonna go out scavenging later today.” Marinette declared as the group ate breakfast. The sky was overcast, just a pure canvas of white above their heads. The cold air bit at their exposed skin, and they all knew they needed to find more warm clothes before the full winter set in. Dead leaves crunched as they flew off the trees, creating a cacophonous melody in the background. 

“Oh I need too also.” Adrien said, taking a bite of canned fruit.

“Why don't you guys go together?” Nino suggested. 

“Um… Well I'm meeting up with a friend of mine, we kinda have a deal worked out and I don't know if he’d want any company.” Marinette said hesitantly. Adrien gave her a surprised look, but his half-asleep brain still didn't put the pieces together.

“Yeah actually I'm in kinda the same situation. My friend might think adding someone else is a risk.” Adrien said casually. Alya and Nino were silent and looked back and forth at one another as they quickly put the pieces together, while the two clueless ones continued eating. 

“Anyway, I'm gonna go down to the river to clean up.” Adrien said, standing up and throwing his can in the trash pile.

“I need to do border patrol so I'll be back soon.” Marinette stood up as well, leaving Alya and Nino alone. 

“Um Nino… Does Adrien’s friend that he meets up with happen to be a dark haired girl with blue eyes who dresses like a ladybug?” Alya asked as soon as the kids were gone. 

“Yep. Does Marinette’s friend happen to be a blonde haired, green eyed dude who dresses like a cat?” Nino inquired in return.

“Yep!” They stared at each other for a moment before dissolving into a fit of giggles. 

“Oh… My… God! They are clueless!” Alya said in between her laughter. 

“I mean I'm not surprised! I never would've dreamed Marinette was Adrien’s dream girl until she mentioned meeting her friend!” He quipped cheerfully. 

“I know! From Marinette’s description of him, I wouldn't have guessed in a million years that Adrien was the pun-dropping flirt she had been hanging around.” 

“Yeah, he gains a lot of confidence with the goggles I guess.” Nino said with a shrug. “But dude, he is totally in love with Ladybug.” 

“I figured from the things Mari said he did. I think she was kind of falling for him as Chat, but then you and Adrien showed up to camp and now she’s head over heels for him without the cat ears, so as you can tell we have a mixed up criss-crossed love square on our hands.” Alya said with a groan, pushing up her glasses slightly. 

“Well then which side should we try to get together? Ladynoir or Adrienette?” Nino asked. Alya stared at him for a moment, pondering what the despondent shippers were supposed to do. 

“Firstly, those are some great ship names so good job. Secondly, I think Adrienette because we’re not around when Ladybug and Chat Noir are together, and I know Mari doesn’t want to reveal her identity, so we just have to make Adrien fall for Marinette.” Alya looked at Marinette, who was barely seen in the distance by the treeline, completely oblivious to the plans her two friends were hatching.

“Oh don’t worry, we can do that.” Nino glanced at Adrien, who was barely visible in the water, with a mischievous look in his eye. “Looks like we’re spending tonight in a tent together, right hon?” He put his arm around her shoulder, and leaned into him.

“Yep, and poor Marinette and Adrien will have to share a tent… it will be unfortunate when most of their blankets disappear and they are forced to cuddle for warmth.” Her smile bordered on maniacal. Nino laughed.

“Man I love what an evil genius you are, let’s just hope neither of them fucks up when they’re scavenging.” 

“Mm hmm, let’s hope.” Alya rested her head on Nino’s shoulder, and they stared lovingly at their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed, don't forget to leave a comment and a kudos!!! 
> 
> Alya and Nino are shipping trash confirmed
> 
> Message me on tumblr!!! PLEASE I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS  
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	9. Clothes Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir raid a mall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER:  
> !!There is mention of suicide so please be careful when reading this if you are sensitive to that!!
> 
> Thanks for all your lovely comments! I hope you guys love this chapter! I'm happy with all the positive reactions this random au is getting!!!
> 
> Thanks again to my awesome beta-reader Jewel
> 
> Love you all! <3

Adrien decided to wait until he was away from the camp to dress into his Chat Noir scavenging gear, simply because he knew Alya would call him a furry for dressing like a cat. 

Marinette also waited until she was away from camp to get dressed, not wanting the boys to think it weird of her to dress like an insect. Oddly enough, even though this past year she had given zero fucks about what others thought of her, the minute a cute boy she liked was around she reverted back to her shy and awkward self before all this went down. It was frustrating to say the least. 

Marinette picked her way over dead branches towards the suburbs, the cracking of dead leaves underneath her feet sounding like thunder in the silent forest. Winter was quickly approaching, and Marinette reminded herself to grab any warm clothes or blankets she could find on this trip. As if to prove her point, she seemed to walk into an air pocket and it suddenly felt at least five degrees colder than before. Shivering, she wrapped her coat tightly around her and began to run to warm her blood. Her breath came out in small, barely visible white puffs in front of her, and her throat felt ragged from breathing in the cold air. 

But it worked. By the time she arrived at their usual meeting spot, Ladybug was no longer cold. Chat Noir wasn't there yet, so she took a seat on a small rock and waited with a hand on her chin.

Quietly, she observed the nature that surrounded her with the usual amazement she harbored whenever she took the time to notice these things. It had only been a year, and nature was already hard at work to reclaim the world it had lost to the humans. Vines crawled up the stone walls of houses, the sidewalks were broken with vibrant green plants erupting through the cracks, and wild animals went wherever they pleased. The air was sweet without the smell of smoke and dirt constantly clogging your throat, and the trees were always alive with the sounds of rustling and chirping. As she was pondering this, suddenly heavy hands came down on her shoulders.

She reacted immediately.

Marinette whipped around and sent her fist flying towards where she guessed her assailants face would be. Her fist made contact with skin, someone shouted in pain, and it took a moment for her to register who the blonde boy keeling over in pain and cradling his face was.

“Chat! Oh my god I'm so sorry!” Ladybug yelped. 

“Holy crap that is one hell of a punch you have.” Chat complained, his voice thick as he spat out some blood onto the grass. Straightening up, he cradled his hand against his jaw. “Damn that hurts.” 

“You shouldn't have scared me like that you stupid cat!” She scolded, pointing an exaggerated finger in his face. He gave her a lopsided grin, even though he winced slightly as he moved his mouth. A flash of guilt shot through her, he'd saved her life twice now and she repaid him by right hooking him? 

“Sorry, that was dumb.” He apologized with genuine kindness. Ladybug sighed and wrapped her arms around her idiotic kitty, her head barely reaching his shoulder, grateful they had both lived another week. He stiffened in surprise, but then quickly relaxed and wrapped his arms around her in return. His gentle touch warmed her from the inside out, and wanted to just stay like that all day.

But they had stuff to do to ensure their survival. 

Pulling away, Ladybug hastily formed a plan as to where they should go. Her mind wandered back to the mansion where they had spent the night, but knew Alya would do much worse than slap her if she stayed out like that again. Then, her mind alighted with an idea.

“We could go to the abandoned mall?” Ladybug suggested. Chat’s expression rose and then fell.

“There's no way that place isn't crawling with corpses, plus that place was probably picked clean immediately when this whole shitstorm began.” 

“Quite the contrary actually. I mean, yes the place is full of zombies but the majority of shopkeepers locked their shops up before they left to god knows where so there's actually a lot of supplies left.” Chat gave her a dubious look.

“Well then how the hell are we supposed to get in the locked stores?” She gave him a sly grin. “Let me guess, you have a solution to that?” She reached in her bag and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters she had found several months prior. Chat just stared for a moment, blinking slowly, before shaking his head.

“Ya know what? Not even gonna ask. Let's go m’lady.” And with that, Ladybug led Chat across the rooftops, with the wind flowing through their hair. They leaped and laughed, letting the feeling of freedom engulf them. Ladybug jumped off of an electrical box, her coat flying out behind her like a cape, giggling as she parkoured her way to the next rooftop. Chat Noir did the same, tempted to do a flip but realizing the stupidity in that before he did so. Ladybug felt light for the first time in a long time, just her and her new friend making their way across city with death-defying stunts, temporarily taking her mind off the hordes of cannibalistic corpses below. 

Too soon though, they arrived at their destination. Stopping at the edge of the roof, the duo gasped for breath as they stared at the gigantic building. The huge windows completely blown out, leaving shards of glass glittering like lost jewels in the faded sunshine. After a few minutes of recovery, Ladybug straightened up and stared at Chat with a grin, although there was more worry in her face than joy.

“Are you ready? There’s a hell of alot of zombies down there.” She said, biting her lip with worry at they watched the shambling remains of people. 

“So wait, are we gonna jump down there and try to make our way through the crowd? ‘Cause that’s suicide.” She blushed and looked away as she realized the flaws in her plan. Chat’s questioning gaze softened. “Hey don’t worry, I have another plan. I suggest we get off the roof on the right side, sneak our way around to that low building over there, and scale our way to that shattered skylight and we can get in there.” Marinette looked in surprise, following Chat’s pointing arm to where, indeed, a broken skylight was. 

“Sounds good to me!” She quipped. His green eyes sparkled with joy as he beamed at her, and they made their way to the right edge, and jumped down onto a closed dumpster with ease. With silent footsteps they tiptoed to the edge of the alley they hand landed in, and peered around the corner. The route Chat had suggested only had a couple of zombies in the way, and Ladybug took out her hatchet in preparation. Chat similarly produced his knife, and they creeped forward in unison to the small building. Ladybug felt horribly exposed being in the open like that, and could only stare in fear at the gigantic crowd some ways off to the left of her. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she froze in fear. Chat then dragged her along by the hand, ensuring she didn’t fall behind, and they approached the first walker. 

Without thinking, she swung her hatchet and nailed the creature right in the head, a sickening crack sounding where her weapon had hit bone. It slumped down, lifeless yet again, and they continued on. 

It was a painfully slow process. If they sped up, they could’ve drawn the attention of the hoard that was uncomfortably close to them. But it felt like years as they tiptoed along the asphalt, every heartbeat at least several minutes long. 

Eventually though, they finally reached the building they had been aiming for. Chat boosted Ladybug up, and she in turn pulled him up to join her on the low roof. They scaled their way up several walls and quickly made it to the skylight they had seen from the distance. Peering down, Ladybug saw it wasn’t as huge of a drop as she feared, though it was definitely higher than the mansion drop they had performed the week prior. She saw a faded kid’s carousel and a large chandelier lying broken on the floor, but otherwise there was nothing else in her field of vision. Gulping, Marinette thought out what angle would be best to drop onto the carousel roof from, when Chat grabbed her arm.

“Are you crazy? You can’t jump that high. The fence was one thing, but this is a whole other thing. You can’t afford to break something!” Chat chastised her, his eyes surprisingly stern. He was right, breaking something would be a death sentence with the crowd outside the mall. 

“Well how else do you propose we get down there?” She asked, putting one hand on her hip. He smirked at this, and reached inside his bag to pull out of all things, a sturdy rope. 

“I thought after last time it might be a good idea to bring this, and as it turns out, I was right!” His smirk changed to a grin of pride. Ladybug couldn’t help but smile back, giving him a small round of applause as he mock bowed. 

“Very impressive chaton, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself! I think it would be good to anchor it on that electrical box right there.” She pointed to a very large and heavy seeming metal box, one that certainly seemed capable of maintaining their weight. Nodding, Chat Noir tied it securely around the box, and thankfully the rope was long enough to reach nearly all the way to the floor through the skylight. 

“This is gonna be a bitch to get back up.” The blonde complained as he tightened his bag around him. “Do you want me to go first or…?” He asked, staring at her earnestly. Ladybug blinked in surprise as she thought about the decision. Whoever went first would be in considerably more danger, for all they knew there could be a gigantic group of zombies just waiting for two stupid teenagers to fall right into their nest. Now this suddenly seemed like a much worse idea than it had earlier. 

“Um, you okay LB?” Chat asked uncertainly, worry filling his kind gaze. Scrunching up her face, Ladybug nodded and smoothed her expression into a smile. 

“Oh yeah totally, sorry just like zoned out for a moment. Anyway I’ll go first.” The last thing she wanted was to have Chat down there alone and trapped, having to watch as the monsters brutally tore him apart limb from limb-

She stopped her thoughts, smacking herself in the head lightly. Chat made a noise of surprise but otherwise didn’t comment, which she was grateful for. 

“I think maybe I should go-”

“Chat I’m going first, don’t argue with me on this.” She said with a steely gaze. He gulped and nodded his head, and Ladybug pulled up her red leather gloves. Her heart began to speed up again as beads of sweat formed on her head despite the cold. 

“Be prepared to pull me back up immediately if I scream.” Ladybug said with more courage in her voice than she actually had. Chat looked like he wanted to hug her, but didn’t make a move towards her. She forced herself to look away and towards the lifeline. With trembling hands she grabbed onto the rope and wrapped her legs around it, and began to gradually worm her way down. Chat’s face peered over the edge at her, looking like he was debating whether or not to just pull the rope back up despite her protests. Looking below her, Ladybug didn’t see anything moving in the shadows, much to her relief. 

Although it took at least ten minutes, Ladybug finally landed on the ground and let out a huge sigh of relief, her hands still shaking with nerves and exertion. 

“I’m all good!” She shouted up to where she could barely make out the outline of Chat’s head against the sunlight. 

“Thank god!” She faintly heard him yell back. “I’m coming down!” She saw his dark figure climb onto the rope, and gasped slightly as it swayed with his weight. With biting nerves she watched him gradually inch down the rope, each minute seeming to take longer than the last. 

But when he was about three quarters of the way down, a large weight landed on top of Marinette. 

Screaming, she scurried out from underneath the zombie that had somehow approached without her noticing. She must’ve been too focused on Chat to hear it’s shambles. The zombie chomped at empty air as she scrambled to her feet, reaching for her hatchet to find it had fallen when the zombie had tackled her. 

“Ladybug! Are you okay?!” Chat shouted. 

“Don’t worry I’m fine!” She shouted back, trying to stay focused on the zombie that was now getting back up. Looking around desperately, she tried to locate anything she could use to kill the monster. A grin spread across her face as she spotted a mannequin lying broken in front of a busted window shopping display. Still not entirely sure what her plan was, Ladybug picked it up and almost cried out in relief when she saw there was a metal thing poking out of the headless neck of the mannequin (that was actually much heavier than it seemed). Bracing herself, Marinette ran full force at the creature, aiming her mannequin like a battering ram while letting out a war cry. 

It had the intended effect. The metal thing poking out of it jabbed right in between the corpse’s eyebrows (or where they would’ve been if it had any hair left), and the creature slumped. Letting out a cry of triumph, Ladybug pumped her fist in the air as relief surged through her body. Just then, Chat came running over, getting down the rope faster than she would’ve thought possible.

“My lady! Are you okay?!” He asked as he rushed towards her. 

“I’m fine now. This zombie tackled me American football style and I had to crawl out from under it. I had dropped my hatchet so I ended up using this mannequin to skewer it like a kabob.” Ladybug said with a hint of pride in her voice. Chat gaped at her for a moment before grinning wildly, and holding up his hand for a fist bump. She returned it with glee, and went to retrieve her hatchet from where it was lying beneath the rope. Once they had both situated themselves, Ladybug turned to Chat Noir with a mischievous glint in her bright blue eyes. 

“Ready to go shopping?” She asked. 

“Oh totally!” He exclaimed excitedly. 

Together they made their way through the abandoned mall, avoiding the stores without gates as they knew those would already be raided. After twenty minutes of searching, slowly making their way through the dark parts of the mall with a flashlight, the duo finally came across a store with the gates still closed shut. Taking out her bolt cutters, Marinette made quick work of the heavy lock and it clattered to the ground with a bang. Wincing at the noise, Ladybug hastily pulled apart the gate to reveal a small clothing store full of brand new, completely untouched clothes. 

“Jackpot!” She whisper-yelled. The teenagers closed the gate behind them, they weren’t stupid after all, and hurriedly checked to ensure there were no zombies in the store. 

Miraculously, the place was completely empty. 

“Well, looks like we have this all to ourselves. Shall we m’lady?” Chat asked with what Ladybug figured was supposed to be a mock purr, but honestly sounded more like a growl than anything else. She ignored it and kept herself from laughing. 

“C’mon silly cat, let’s get clothes.” 

Marinette sifted through the piles and piles of clothes, marveling at how soft and good smelling they were. Even though she cleaned her current clothes often, there was always a certain point at which the smell of sweat and blood was just never coming out without proper soap. She looked for herself first, and found several things to be to her liking. The dark-haired girl ducked into the dressing room at the same time her partner did. She turned around to face the mirror, and stopped.

A strange woman was standing in front of the mirror, her posture suggesting courage and confidence. Marinette stumbled back, seeing the figure do the same, before realizing it was her reflection in a mirror. She hadn’t seen herself in a proper mirror in a long time.

Carefully, she removed the goggles, not daring to remove her eyes from the strange figure in front of her. 

The girl in front of her had tangled black-blue hair, messily tied into pigtails. Her face was covered in a mixture of dirt, soot, and blood, almost like some twisted form of tribal makeup. Her clothes were covered in dark stains of blood, and she slowly removed them, watching the unfamiliar girl do the same. 

Marinette stared at herself, completely naked in the mirror, having forgotten Chat Noir could burst in at any moment. 

Her pale skin was tan now, a soft bronze having settled over most of her features. The amount of freckles on her body had increased enormously from all her time in the sun, and she reminded herself of a croissant almost, as weird as it seemed. Scars marked her, well, everywhere. Slashes along her arms from where she’d gotten cut by glass time and time again. Healing scabs on her legs from where she’d scraped them over and over no matter how thick of pants she wore. One long deep line up her chest and in between her breasts, a reminder of a very painful injury she’d received whilst Alya and her were escaping Paris. Thankfully they’d had a first aid kit with them at that time.

But most of all, what seemed different was her eyes. Their familiar blue no longer held the same sense of naivety she had once had as a child. No longer held innocence or wonder within their bluebell depths. Instead, these eyes were hardened. Confidence radiated throughout them, like this woman knew what she needed to do and how to accomplish it. This woman seemed like she could handle anything that was thrown at her, but there was a darkness behind the baby blue’s as well. Something haunted in her own eyes, that Marinette hadn’t even realized was there. 

She was looking at a complete stranger. 

She stared at herself a few moments longer before snapping herself back into reality, and quickly pulled on the clothes she had brought in to try on. 

“My ladyyyy are you going to show me your new duds?!” Chat called out teasingly from outside. Marinette snickered as she pulled on the high-necked bright red sweatshirt along with a pair of black, loose, soft, cotton harem pants. Putting her goggles back on, she pulled her hood up and deemed the look very pleasing. Then she climbed out of the dressing room to Chat Noir, who seemed to be attempting to pose provocatively across the floor and utterly failing in doing so. 

“Hey bugaboo.” He said with half-closed lids and a husky voice. Ladybug just rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness, and he stood up quickly. She looked at his new outfit, and saw he was wearing a loose, sweater-like, oversized black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up along with a pair of black joggers and his usual leather boots. A grey scarf was wrapped around his neck like a windbreaker, and overall he looked extremely cool. She let out a low whistle.

“Damn Chat, you look pretty good.” She commented with an appreciative nod. 

“You look great Ladybug.” He said, beaming at her. She couldn’t help but smile back at the sweet boy. 

“Thank you! I think I’m gonna keep these. Now lemme get some more regular clothes and some for my friend and we’ll get going.” He nodded and they went back to their dressing rooms.

In the end, Marinette had ended up getting several t-shirts, a pair of soft, pale pink sweatpants, the new scavenging clothes she had tried on earlier, a pair of black joggers for herself, a pair of grey joggers for Alya, a black sweatshirt with a white wifi symbol on it for Alya, two long black dusters with hoods for her and Alya, and as much underwear and pairs of socks as she could fit with the remaining space in her bag. 

As they walked out back towards where they knew the rope was, Chat spotted one of those toy machines a person would put spare change in and then turn the handle to get their toy. He immediately bounded over to it, and squealed like a child when he saw the toy rings that were still inside. 

“Can I get one?!” He asked excitedly, looking like he had never seen one of those machines in his life. 

“Um… sure? I mean you’re gonna need some coins-”

“Nope this’ll do!” And with that, he took the bolt cutters out of Ladybug’s bag and forcefully turned the handle, until it snapped off and the contents of the machine came tumbling out. Grinning like a five-year old, Chat handed the bolt cutters back to her and rummaged through the pile until he found a plastic ring, and pocketed it in his bag. Rolling her eyes, Ladybug kept her smile to herself at how cute he was acting. 

“C’mon let’s go.” She said, jerking her head towards their exit. Nodding, they began to walk again until they heard a loud scream. Immediately, they took out their weapons and glanced around for any sign of movement as the scream went silent once more. They waited, bodies completely tense with very little breathing. Marinette felt her heart was beating so loudly it was about to burst out of her chest. 

And then, someone came running from the shadows.

The figure came, running frantically in swerving lines, breathing heavily and then freezing a few feet away from Ladybug and Chat Noir as the figure saw them. 

“O-Oh my god! Are you-are you guys alive?!” It was a boy, around their age it seemed, speaking in english with a british accent. He had brown hair and darker brown eyes, with silver earrings in his ears and small eyebrow piercings glinting off the jagged light in the corridor. He was wearing dark clothing as well, and had a slight and gangly figure. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes seemed panicked. 

“Yes we are alive.” Chat replied in surprisingly rather okay english. The boy relaxed visibly, and the duo got out of their attack positions but kept their weapons in hand. “Who are you?” He stared at them a moment, before his mouth spread into a terrifyingly wide smile and began to laugh hysterically. 

“It-It doesn’t matter who I am anymore! Not at all! Not when I’ll be dead in a day!” They gave him a confused look, and still laughing, he held out his arm where a white bandage was wrapped around it. Blood seeped through and it hit the teenagers at the same time.

The boy had been bit. 

Their eyes widened and they both unconsciously stepped back slightly, and this just seemed to make the boy laugh harder. He kept laughing, until tears began pouring down his face, and the laughter faded into sobs. 

“I don’t want to become one of them!” He yelled, crumbling onto the ground. “I don’t want to be a monster who just hurts people over and over!” Looking back and forth at one another, Ladybug made the decision to cautiously step over to where he was lying on the ground. He looked up at her brokenly, no fear at all in his eyes even though her hatchet was still in hand. In fact, when his eyes drifted over to her hatchet, a terrible idea seemed to alight his face. 

“I… I know this is asking a lot since I don’t even know you, but you wouldn’t happen to have a gun by chance?” Ladybug and Chat Noir gaped at each other, their minds quickly understanding what he was insinuating. He seemed to notice their hesitation and shock. “It would only be one bullet… please.” The boy looked at them with such a desperate pleading in his eyes, his voice breaking on the word ‘please’. 

“Chat what do we do?” Ladybug whispered in french. Chat’s green eyes were full of conflict, as Ladybug’s were probably as well. What should they do? This boy obviously didn’t want to become a monster, and the less zombies in the world for the survivors to deal with the better, but to assist in a suicide? Was that really what humanity had come to?

The boy spoke up again, surprising both of them.

“My… my boyfriend’s already dead. He turned into one of those… things, and I had to kill him. Before that it was my parent’s, my sister, and my best friend. I’ve lost everything and everyone. Please, I’m begging you, just let me die the way I want to.” His words were no longer manic as they were before. Instead a startling sense of calm had worked its way into his tone. He knew this was what he wanted.

What would Marinette do if she were in his shoes? Would she be willing to ask complete strangers to help her kill herself, simply so she could have control over the one thing as simple as her own inevitable death?

Yes. Yes she would. Because if she had lost everything, as much as it hurt her to think about, and she had nothing else to live for, the last thing she’d want is to turn into what took the rest of her friends and family. 

“Give him the gun.” She told Chat in english so the boy could understand. Chat’s green eyes flitted over to her with worry and confliction, but she kept her gaze determinedly locked with his. He nodded, and slowly pulled the gun out of the holster he kept hidden by his coat on his leg. With shaky hands, he took out all of the bullets except one, and he handed it to the boy whose eyes had lit up with hope and tears. 

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered in english to him. 

“Thank you.” He whispered back, nodding slightly. With that, Ladybug grabbed Chat’s hand and pulled him away as they turned back towards their exit, and just walked in silence. 

It was quiet for several minutes, before the telltale ring of a gunshot echoed throughout the cavernous building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it got dark at the end, I tend to write darker things the later at night it is lol
> 
> The next chapter is gonna be WAY lighter and funnier (you don't even know hahahahaha)
> 
> Links to Ladybug and Chat Noir's outfits:  
> Chat Noir: http://fabularasa.net/w/images/c/cf/Taps5.jpg
> 
> Ladybug: https://s3.amazonaws.com/rebelsmarket_production/blog/post_pictures/data/content/3061.jpg
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	10. I'm So Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids try to recover after the harrowing experience the day prior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL ARE IN FOR A WILD RIDE
> 
> My beta Jewel gave me this idea so blame her
> 
> This is my best fucking chapter so far
> 
> Don't murder me please

The rest of the evening was a blur for the duo. Chat and Ladybug parted ways with little words once they reached their meeting spot, neither quite sure what to say. When Marinette got back to camp after changing into her regular clothes, she presented her bag of new clothes to Alya, and was met with a bone crushing hug. 

Adrien got a similar reaction from Nino when he showed him what he got his best friend. The DJ was thrilled to see a new pair of headphones in the bag, even if he couldn't use them, along with lots of bright and colorful clothing to fit Nino’s style. But neither Marinette or Adrien could muster up the energy to be excited as well, and neither told their friends the incident that had occurred with the boys. Then they both went to sleep without incident, while Alya and Nino hatched a plan.

The next day the kids were feeling slightly better, now dressed in their new clothes, but Alya and Nino wanted to cheer them up more. 

“We’re all going for a walk today.” She announced as they ate breakfast that morning. 

“But someone needs to stay and watch the camp at all times!” Marinette protested, pulling the light grey jacket she had gotten the day prior tighter around herself as a breeze blew through. 

“We won't go far, plus Nino and I are getting a little stir crazy. C’mon it'll be fun!” Alya pleaded. Marinette stared at her a moment longer before sighing in defeat. Adrien and Nino both cheered as they all finished their food and set out along a small hiking path. 

That day, even though it was cold, the sky was a clear blue with small wisps of clouds dotting the horizon. The air smelled faintly of peppermint and the cold air quickly cleared both Marinette and Adrien’s heads. As they strolled along the edge of the river, they came across a rather large dead frog in the trail. 

“Damn that thing is nasty.” Alya said, face scrunching up at the animal corpse. 

“Poor Pepe has finally met his end.” Adrien mumbled without thinking. Everyone's heads whipped towards him, and Alya narrowed her eyes.

“Did you just say what I think you said?” Alya asked. Adrien let out a startled laugh.

“Yes I did. Rest in Pepeace.” He said with a smirk. 

“Oh my god we have meme trash here.” Alya muttered. Marinette giggled slightly and Adrien felt accomplished. They kept walking along the trail, the river sparkling in the late morning sun. Eventually they came across a large tree that had fallen over, and Adrien saw Nino’s face light up with an idea.

“Hoe don't do it.” Adrien muttered under his breath. Marinette gave him a curious look. 

“Damn she thicc!” Nino said loudly. Alya glared at him and grabbed his arm, shoving him down the slope towards the river where he barely avoided falling in.

“Oh my god.” Adrien finished, watching as Nino caught his balance. Alya glared at the blonde as well, and he shut his mouth quickly. The group then walked in a relaxed silence, the crunching of leaves beneath their feet being the only noise they caused. After almost thirty minutes of contemplating their lives in the empty world they now lived in, they came across a spattering of empty homes that neither Adrien nor Marinette had seen before. 

“Wanna split up and explore these places?” Alya suggested. 

“Sure!” Adrien and Nino agreed enthusiastically. 

“Cool, Mari and I will go this way while you and Adrien go the other. We’ll meet back here in like ten minutes.” They split off to their individual sides. Adrien and Nino cautiously strolled through one house, and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so Nino began a conversation.

“So Adrien…”

“Yeah?” Adrien asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the DJ’s mischievous tone.

“You and Marinette…?” He smirked and didn’t finish, letting Adrien fill in the details. Adrien punched him in the arm and began to blush furiously.

“What are you talking about man? We’re just friends…” 

“Why you always lyinnnnnn, why you always lyinnnnn, mmmm ohmigod, STOP FUCKING LYIN!” Nino yelled out in a sing-song voice. 

“Don’t you dare use my memes against me.” Adrien said in defense. “But you and Alya…?”

“Unlike you and Mari, who are utterly oblivious, Alya and I actually TALK about our feelings so YES we are indeed growing our relationship.” Nino declared with a pointed look at the blonde. 

“Damn savage.” He muttered. They continued walking in silence for another few minutes, before coming across a pair of shoes on the ground. The duo looked at each other for a moment, before Nino opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t you fucking da-”

“WHAT ARE THOSSEEEEE!?” Adrien shouted at the top of his lungs, reaching down and picking the vans up. Nino just sighed and facepalmed himself. Afterwards they found nothing else that was useful in the house, not like they were looking closely anyway, and made their way back to the meeting spot where the girls were already waiting. The girls spotted the perfectly clean white vans in Adrien’s hand immediately, and before he could explain himself Marinette interrupted him.

“Damn Daniel, back at it again with the white vans!” She said cheerfully. He stared at her in shock for a moment, before sniffling and wiping a fake tear from his eye as he beamed.

“I’m so proud of you.” He said quietly, hugging her side as joy filled him at his friend’s memeing. Alya and Nino just sighed again. Adrien didn’t notice Marinette’s extreme blush at the physical contact, but she managed to keep her cool all the same. 

“Let’s take a lunch break.” Alya suggested, dragging Nino over to a rocky outcropping where they sat down and immediately began to whisper to one another. Shrugging, Marinette and Adrien headed to another nearby rock and sat down and began to take out their food. They ate while comfortably chatting, a light breeze picking up and gently caressing their skin. Then, with full stomachs and Alya and Nino still talking, the two laid back on a rock and closed their eyes, feeling safe in that very vulnerable position. 

A wall of peace and unconsciousness began to approach slowly, and although Adrien knew it would be a very bad idea to fall asleep, he began to sink into the rich velvet of darkness. 

Until Nino was shaking him awake.

“Ughhh…” He groaned, lifting his eyelids that felt like lead. His head ached and all he wanted was to curl back up into a ball and never get up, for some reason he was insanely comfortable on the rock. 

“Wake me up inside (can’t wake up)... save me.” He mumbled as he roused himself into wakefulness. 

“Oh my fucking god.” Nino muttered as he grabbed Adrien’s wrist and yanked him to his feet. Adrien almost fell face first into the ground, but his best friend caught him before he could get a faceful of mud and rocks. 

“C’mon bro, we’re gonna play a game of hide and seek for some reason. I think Alya’s drunk or something but I don’t care let’s go!” The DJ was bouncing up and down excitedly, and Adrien immediately became more aware the minute hide and seek was mentioned. 

“I’M ALWAYS A SLUT FOR HIDE AND SEEK!” Adrien shouted at the top of his lungs. Nino just sighed and shook his head, before leading the way to a clearing where Alya and Marinette were waiting. 

“Finally awake Sleeping Beauty?” Alya commented drily. 

“I am Goldilocks excuse you.” Adrien replied in a mock offended tone. Marinette bit back a laugh, with an odd snort coming out of her mouth instead. 

“Whatever Goldilocks, anyway let’s get this started! Now I have no idea why I wanted to do this but Mari and I checked the immediate vicinity and it seems clear so we should be safe. Just keep your weapons on you in case. Now remember, no going past that fallen over tree over there and the fucked up tree over there.” Alya pointed to a tree behind Adrien that certainly did fit the description of ‘fucked up’, as it was drooped over sideways almost like a drunk person. 

“Marinette will be the seeker first!”

“Hey!” Marinette protested but Alya cut her off.

“Ready? Count to 60 Mari! Go!” And with that, the three were off like shots, darting for the best places to hide. It made Adrien feel giddy, like he was a child again playing with his friends. 

Except his father had kept him locked inside his whole childhood so this was more of a first time experience. 

He quickly spotted a hiding spot among a multitude of bushes, and dove in with haste. Marinette’s clear voice continued ringing out, counting down the numbers and he shivered in anticipation. This was so exciting! Hide and seek was magical! What else could bring a seventeen year old boy to giggling in a bush?

Well actually probably several things that will be left to your imagination.

“3, 2, 1! Ready or not here I come!” Marinette called out. Adrien tentatively peaked his head out, and saw she was headed straight in his direction, her dark hair bobbing around her. Startled, he ducked back down. 

His breath was loud in the silence of his private crevice, and he felt a thud with every beat of his heart. Her footsteps grew nearer and nearer, and Adrien knew he was going to be found out, when suddenly, a curse was heard in the opposite direction. He gave a silent thanks to whatever it was, as Marinette turned around and headed the other way.

After a few minutes of waiting for something to happen, Adrien realized why this game was more appealing to kids. It got boring waiting to be found. He had nothing to do but hope Marinette found him. 

But then a terrible idea occurred to him, and he rubbed his hands together maniacally.

“I found you Alya!” He heard her call, another loud curse indicating Alya was not too happy about this discovery. 

“Great. Well… WE’RE COMING FOR YOU AGRESTE!” He shrank back, knowing it was time to enact his hastily concocted plan. He took a deep breath, and eyed where he was going to run, and prepared himself. 

“GUESS WHO?!” He shouted, rolling into the next cluster of bushes near him. The patter of footsteps indicated Alya and Mari’s arrival, but he was far enough away to where they did not notice him crouched in the bushes. 

“Adrien, what are you doing?” Marinette inquired in a slightly exasperated tone. 

“THERE’S A PERSON!” He shouted when he was sure they weren’t looking, practically falling into the next cluster. The footsteps ran over, and he laughed to himself. 

“Oh my god you’re so weird.” Alya said with a sigh. He just continued laughing to himself, and prepared for the final act of his plan as he was done with this rather boring game of hide and seek. With a pounding heart, he let out a sharp whistle that had the girls running right to his bush, but they were unable to see him beneath the foliage. 

“He’s definitely over here.” Marinette muttered. 

“AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENNAAAAAAAAA!” Adrien shouted at the top of his lungs, leaping out of the bush right in front of the girls. They both screamed in fright, and he went to begin laughing when suddenly a fist flew at his face.

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground with an aching head and a warm liquid running down his face. 

“Ohmigod Adrien I’m so sorry! You scared the shit out of us!” Marinette exclaimed, bending down and grabbing a cloth as she began to wipe up the blood. 

“Turn down for what.” Alya said snarkily. Adrien tried to glare at her, but his vision swam so he just laid his head back down into Mari’s arms. A crash in the bushes then drew their attention, and Adrien’s head span as he tried to reach for his knife before Nino burst through, brandishing his own knife. 

“What the fuck was that?!” He yelled in a panic. 

“Meme trash over here decided to scare the shit out of us by yelling John Cena.” Alya complained. Nino stared at her blankly for a moment, before dropping his knife and turning to the bleeding Adrien. 

“Remind me why I’m friends with you?” 

“Oh come on, you love my memes.” Adrien said with a chuckle, wincing as a shot of fire ran through his face. 

“I think we need to carry you back, at least until the bleeding stops, your nose might be broken and you hit your head pretty hard.” Marinette said in a professional tone. 

“Are you kidding me? You sure we can’t just leave him here?” Alya said exasperatedly. 

“No we’re not leaving him. Even if he is complete trash.” Marinette said, her tone not actually harsh. 

“Get ready to lift him on three!” She yelled, once Alya and Nino had gotten into position. 

“Wait!” Adrien shouted, drawing all their attention. They all gazed at him with confused expressions.

“If I die…” He paused for dramatic effect. “Ted Cruz is the zodiac killer.”

“What are you going on about bro? Who the hell is Ted Cruz?” Nino inquired. Adrien looked hopefully to Alya and Marinette, one of them had to get it right? 

They looked equal parts annoyed and puzzled.

“Do none of you know have good taste in memes?” He asked in mock hurt. “I’ll have you know that was a quality meme from the US presidential election of 2016. Ted Cruz was one of the candidates and we all knew he was secretly the zodiac killer from the 60’s.” The trio looked at one another dubiously.

“I think it’s the blood loss.” Marinette decided, clarifying his odd words. “Anyway, ready in 3, 2, 1, LIFT!” And Adrien was hoisted up above the three, a wave of pain going through his head, and his stomach lurched but he managed not to puke. Then they rather awkwardly began to carry their friend back to the campsite.

Silence surrounded them besides the grunts and groans of strain. It reminded Adrien of a funeral procession almost. And then he remembered exactly what song he wanted to be played at his funeral.

“Mmmmm watcha sayyyyyyyy…” He began, singing harmoniously to the now darkenening sky. 

“That’s it I’m done.” Alya said, immediately letting go of her hold on Adrien and leaving Nino to catch him. The rest of the trip was even more awkward, as Nino and Marinette alone half carried half dragged Adrien’s ass back to their camp. By the time he arrived, he was so tired he had fallen asleep, and dreamt of beautiful memes all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is meme trash 100%
> 
> Again this beautiful chapter is my beta's fault
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!


	11. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (After the train wreck that was the meme chapter) Life continues on for the group as they try to remain optimistic about what the future could hold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm back, sorry for the impromptu hiatus but I started watching an anime and whenever I start watching a show that I binge I can't really focus much on writing for some reason so I was just finishing up that plus I've been busy with school and stuff
> 
> BUT MY INSPIRATION AND ZEST FOR WRITING HAS RETURNED AND BOY HOWDY I KNOW WHERE THIS DAMN THING IS GOING NOW AND THERE'S GONNA BE ANGST
> 
> This is more of a filler chapter with an important plot point, also things are gonna get pretty dark from here on out I think mwahaha
> 
> AND THE MEME CHAPTER IS MY PRIDE AND JOY SO SORRY NOT SORRY FOR THAT SHIT
> 
> And sorry if this is short, I've been out of practice since I haven't written anything in the past like two weeks so I'm just trying to get back in the swing of it
> 
> As always, special thanks to my lovely beta reader Jewel! <3

Time began to blur after the lighthearted walk. Day in and day out was the same routine. Eat, talk, wash, patrol, sleep. Once a week the monotony was broken by Ladybug and Chat Noir meeting up and scavenging whatever they could find, but even that gained a sense of repeated familiarity. Time no longer had any meaning, the daily grind wearing into the kids psyche’s to never be forgotten. At night, Marinette began to hear screams within her own mind. The screams of the boy in the mall, the screams of those she had watched die in the streets of Paris, the imagined screams of her parents and her friends. They always held the same fear, the same pain, the pure unadulterated agony. 

No dreams accompanied these voices. And Marinette wasn’t sure if that was what she would’ve preferred. Mostly because every time she would awake in a cold sweat, her heart beating out of her chest and her breath coming in short gasps, her imagination would fill in the gaps gladly with scenarios to match the wails resonating throughout her head. 

When she would wake up from these night terrors, Adrien would generally wake up as well and murmur reassuring things while rubbing her arm to try and coax her back to sleep. Adrien and Marinette now permanently slept in the same tent, as Alya and Nino were a full thing now and wanted their time alone. Neither Marinette nor Adrien wanted to think about what they did with that alone time, so they never asked why rustling always came from the tent in the dead of night. 

Thankfully, Adrien never inquired as to what her nightmares were about, so Marinette paid him the same respect and never asked why he would wake up with tears streaming down his cheeks. They just kept a silent agreement and would calm one another down when the need arose. 

Marinette hadn’t thought it was possible, but the world apparently was still on a downward spiral rather than having reached rock bottom like she had previously thought. Whenever she and Chat went scavenging, they always seemed to find more fresh bodies than what was there the week prior. Although neither was proud of it, they would always be quick to raid those bodies since former survivors always had the best loot. The faces haunted both of them. It was easy to look at a rotting corpse and feel no emotion, since it no longer appeared human, but these fresh bodies were different. A person could clearly picture any range of emotion that had once passed through those now empty glazed eyes. And although she had never heard those voices, their screams haunted Marinette’s dreams as well. 

But they didn’t only come upon dead people. Other groups would regularly pass by their camp, and every time Alya would get the shotgun out until they were deemed safe. None were hostile, they were simply passing through in an attempt to go south before it got too cold. Their own survival group had abandoned that idea long ago, knowing it would be dangerously crowded down south and that it wasn’t worth the risk. But they would trade with these small groups, and chat for several hours as they all learned more about the state of the world.

Surprisingly, several groups of people their own age made their way through. Alix and Kim were a powerful duo, who gladly told tales of their grand escapades in order to pass the time. Rose and Juleka were a sweet couple, and although Juleka had clearly been hardened by her experiences Rose was still filled with hope and light, and she brightened everyone’s mood immensely with her endless optimism. But not all of the groups were pleasant, a bitter girl named Chloe with her lackey Sabrina were extremely rude and unpleasant to be around, and they were all glad when the girls left. 

Months went by and before the gang knew it, winter had fully set upon them. Everyday Marinette would wake up without feeling in her toes, and small white puffs would come from her mouth. She would always turn over and see Adrien in a similar state, and then they would psyche each other up to get out from under the warm blankets. Eventually, Alya decided they all needed to sleep in the same tent so they could use their collective body heat to keep warm. Marinette feared this meant her best friend would find out about her nightmares, which was something she didn’t want to have to explain, but Adrien saved her by letting her sleep on the edge while he slept next to her so Alya and Nino wouldn’t know when she woke. 

Marinette knew she was falling hard for the blonde, and his constant kindness and consideration rendered her incapable of normal speech around him. She always found herself in a constant state of embarrassment, tripping over her words (and her feet as she always seemed to grow ten times more klutzy around him). She had no idea what his opinion of her was, although Alya always insisted he HAD to feel similarly although Marinette wasn’t so sure. Without knowing why, she couldn’t help but shake this feeling that his heart belonged to someone else. Perhaps it was the way he would gaze dreamily into the distance, or sigh whenever a ladybug flew by his face. 

She did however, know exactly how Chat Noir felt. After a few weeks, he gave up on subtlety and made his feelings very obvious. At first she had been saddened and wracked with guilt with this knowledge, feeling bad she couldn’t reciprocate, but soon found her heart would continue to surprise her as a small section of her began to grow rather fond of his bad jokes and flirtatious nature. The key to her heart continued to be held onto by Adrien though, even if he wasn’t aware of this. 

But one day, in the cold, unforgiving, biting wind of December, Marinette’s attitude towards Chat Noir changed completely. 

Her breath came in small puffs as Ladybug and her partner sat on the precipice of the roof, hordes of monsters shambling below. Their legs dangled aimlessly, swinging back and forth as the duo took a moment to relax and just enjoy one another's company, rather than continue the endless fight for survival. Bluebell eyes stared out at the ocean of grey that was the sky, the clouds making shapes akin to tumultuous waves within their depths. A freezing cold breeze passed over them, all the warmth that remained in her body was sucked out immediately. She shivered and wrapped her jacket tighter around her, willing any body heat to stay with her. 

Chat immediately took note of this, and he casually draped his arm around her and pulled her close to shield her from the wind. This wasn't an uncommon thing, Chat was always finding small ways to touch her. Not with any perverted sense in mind, rather as if her physical proximity soothed him. She didn't mind, in fact Ladybug was grateful because she really was cold and Chat felt like a human heater, so she nestled into his chest and breathed in his familiar scent. 

They let the peaceful quiet, broken only by the groans emanating from below, engulf them and wrap them in its reassurances. The reassurance that nothing was certain, that they could die tomorrow, but that in this moment they were real and alive and had made it this far. She felt his heart thump steadily beneath his clothing, the constant beat only adding to the reassurance. Although they knew one day their luck would run out, they were safe in that moment. In their own little bubble atop that roof in the middle of a location that no longer mattered. 

Then, Chat spoke.

“We didn't even know his name.” He said, his voice soft as it carried on the frigid breeze. He didn't have to specify who he meant, Ladybug knew he could only be talking about the brown-haired boy from the mall. The words were edged with melancholy and regret, like it would have made a difference if they knew his name or not. 

“It doesn't matter anymore. When you die, and there's no one left to remember you, you cease to be a person. A name is just a title we carry until we cease to exist.” Ladybug stated darkly, her words full of a measured calm. Chat gave her a surprised look, but then sighed almost as if he expected her to say that. 

“I guess that's true, but the thing is we remember him. So that boy still is a person, just without a name.” His voice broke slightly, as they both recalled the utter look of sadness and defeat that had adorned the boy’s countenance. “I just don't know why I can't stop thinking about it! I've seen people die before, why is this any different?” His voice was pleading.

“Because we saw him at his most vulnerable moment, the moment he had lost all hope and begged for death. And we helped him, we helped him die quickly. That's why it affected us so much, because unlike the strangers we see dead on the ground, we helped put the bullet in his head.” Ladybug explained quietly. Chat looked down, and was silent for a few minutes as he pondered this.

“He still deserved to have a name to be remembered by.” He muttered. “Everyone deserves to have a name to be remembered by.” Silent tears tracked down both their cheeks, hopelessness consuming them under cloudy grey skies.

“I think that's what I fear most.” Chat whispered. “I don't want to be erased, like I never existed in the first place after I die.” His hand, which until that point had been lightly rubbing up and down her arm, stilled as his shoulders slumped. Ladybug straightened up out of his grasp, and turned to face the boy. His cheeks were damp as water rolled out from under his goggles. His haunted eyes were filled with a sense of mourning, and the love that generally filled his gaze whenever they were together was absent. 

Her heart twisted painfully at the sight of her partners sadness, the absence of his joy leaving her feeling cold and lonely. She took his face in her hands, and wiped away a tear with a red-gloved thumb. She couldn't deny her own sense of defeat that was welling up in her chest, but she forced it down as she concentrated on the boy who always put her first, knowing she needed to return the favor. 

She embraced him tightly, her arms winding around his broad shoulders as he curled into her. 

“I won't let you be erased. I'll never forget you.” She whispered into his ear. He immediately relaxed, and wrapped his arms around her in return as a small shudder went through his body. 

“I know I don't act like it, but I'm scared to die. I'm so scared that I'll lose the battle, even though I know that everyone is living on borrowed time. And I'm scared I'll be forgotten too, that the world will just keep rotating around the sun as humanity is wiped away.” Marinette confessed, her small voice breaking. “Even though we’re so small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, I'm scared to never have existed. Because none of this really does matter, even though I want it to.” 

“I won't let you be forgotten either.” Chat whispered back. Then they pulled apart slightly, and Ladybug gazed deeply into Chat Noir’s peridot eyes. 

They sat nose to nose, their frozen breath still puffing out in front of them. The warmth from his body seeped into her own, their chests pressed against one another as she was seated in a way that could only be described as on his lap. 

In that moment, time had no meaning. Ladybug couldn't hear the groans and shuffling of the monsters below them. She didn't feel the biting wind stinging her face. All she could focus on was not drowning in the green depths of Chat’s eyes. 

An eternity trapped in the span of a second passed, and slowly Ladybug leaned towards Chat’s face. 

Cold lips met cold lips, gliding across one another in a synchronized dance with no rhythm. Ladybug tasted the salt of their shared tears, that were now beginning to stop their gentle descent. A flower of joy bloomed in Ladybug’s chest, washing away a lot of the melancholy that had sat there before. Chat’s hand reached up behind her head, gently cupping the back of her neck, while Ladybug ran her fingers through his golden hair. Small gasps escaped both of them, and they were carried away by the harsh wind. 

The kiss wasn't very long or rushed, ending within what seemed like a few minutes although Ladybug wasn't sure. They separated slowly, cheeks flushed and lips bright pink. Chat grinned slowly, and Ladybug gave a small smile back. 

They could’ve stayed in that spot for the rest of time, hidden away from the horrors of the world, but long shadows began to loom across the ground indicating the setting sun. Ladybug extricated herself from Chat’s hold, a cupped his cheek lightly before getting on her feet. Chat Noir stood up as well, the pain and sadness no longer visible. 

“We need to head back.” Ladybug stated, glancing at the darkening sky.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Chat said reluctantly, looking down at the ground. It was silent for a moment, before he glanced up at her yet again. 

“Thank you for that m’lady.” He said softly, appreciation radiating from him. 

“For what?” She inquired, wondering if he meant the kiss or the promise. Chat stared at her for a moment, watching her as if she held all the secrets of the universe within her eyes. He stepped closer, and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, his body shaking slightly. It took a moment for her to realize he was crying again. 

“Thank you for giving me hope again.”

And although he hadn’t said it, Ladybug knew he didn’t mean hope that they could have a relationship.

The boy meant hope in living life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M LADYNOIR TRASH DON'T FUCKING JUDGE ME
> 
> Sorry for like the 'showing not telling' time skip that occurred, I just needed that to happen 'cause plot ya know?
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!!! Please leave a kudos and a comment if you did, it always gives me more motivation to keep this fic going!! Also message me on tumblr if you want! Don't be shy I love making new internet friends that share the same obsessions as I do
> 
> My tumblr: http://themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com/


	12. My Main Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk, an attack, a drunk game, and some Adrienette

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I actually planned out the rest of the fic so just know it'll be ending soon AND BOY DO WE GOT ANGST COMING OUR WAY
> 
> This chapter was super fun to write and just know that the kids had to use the second bottle of wine sometime soon
> 
> Thanks so much for all the love and support on this fic!!!! I love it so much!! 
> 
> As always, gotta love my beta Jewel for constantly letting me bounce ideas off her and for correcting my numerous mistakes

Later in the night of the Kiss, Marinette and Adrien both stumbled home in a fog of newfound happiness. They were both so out of it, neither even noticed the other’s similarly timed arrivals back to camp. 

Alya and Nino both noticed their friends odd behaviors over dinner, and both pulled their respective partner aside for some much needed interrogation after they finished eating.

“Bro, tell me, what's up with you? You've been out of it ever since you got back from scavenging!” Nino implored to the blonde, whose peridot eyes were gazing absently into the stars. “Let me guess, it has something to do with Ladybug.”

“Yeah.” Adrien responded, a smile on his face. Nino sighed and resisted the urge to slap a palm to his forehead in frustration. 

“‘Yeah’? That's all I'm gonna get Agreste? Nuh uh uh, you're gonna talk. Now.” Nino had been taking cues from Alya on how to get information he wanted, as she could make a serial killer confess his crimes to a grand jury if she put her mind to it. Adrien bit his lip, knowing Nino wouldn’t give up but wanting to keep the moment to himself a little longer.

But he knew his best friend was determined, and let his resolve go very quickly. 

“She kissed me.” He said dreamily. Nino again had the urge to slap his forehead as frustration, but it wasn't as strong as his new urge to slap Adrien himself in frustration. All the DJ wanted to do in that moment was shout at the top of his lungs, ‘FOR FUCKS SAKE MAN SHE’S RIGHT THERE!’ But he didn't because he knew Alya would be furious with him. 

So he decided to give him a subtle hint.

“Damn that's great man. Do you think there's like, any possibility, like at all, that you could know her out of the mask? I dunno, I mean we meet a lot of people and stuff so…” He trailed off, hoping the lightbulb would go off in his extremely dense friend’s head. Adrien gave him a confused look.

“No I don't think so. I’d have to be really dumb to know her and not realize it's her, and I mean I may be a blonde but I like to think I'm not stupid.” Adrien said with a chuckle at his own joke. 

“Oh. Well. You never know…” Nino said, trailing off as he walked away to prevent himself from slapping the boy upside the head. He went to confide his anger in Alya, who just led him to ‘their’ tent without a word leaving Adrien and Marinette to imagine what they were doing. 

Adrien saw Marinette sitting by the fire, the flickering light casting a soft orange glow on her face as she sat lost in thought. He approached and saw she had a soft smile on her face, and he was glad that she was happy. Seeing the dark-haired wake up gasping from her nightmares always hurt Adrien, but he never pried. 

“Hey Mari,” he said as he approached, sitting down beside her on the log.

“Oh hi Adrien.” She replied, looking up at the massive field of stars above them. “The sky sure is pretty tonight.” Her big blue eyes gazed in wonder at the universe above their heads, the pinpricks of light reflecting off their ocean blue surface. Her breath came out in small puffs and they both shivered as a breeze blew over them. Adrien pulled Marinette over without thinking, and she stiffened in surprise but quickly melted into him. 

“Oh um, sorry. Is this okay?” Adrien asked, a blush spreading across his cheeks. 

“Yeah it's fine, it's really cold out.” She said. “You seem really happy right now, did something happen?” He blushed harder as he thought back to kissing Ladybug, how he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but for some reason he didn't want to tell Marinette about it. 

“Um, my scavenging partner and I just had a really good talk.” He said awkwardly. Marinette giggled.

“Me and my partner also had a really good talk, even if it was a little sad.” It was silent for a moment, both trying to think of what to say to continue the conversation. “What's your scavenging partner like?” The question startled Adrien, he hadn't expected Marinette to ask him that of all things. Why would she want to know what Ladybug was like?

“Well…” He paused, trying to think of what to say. “She's amazing really. Always knows how to get us out of a sticky situation. She never lets fear overcome her, like it does most people. And she's compassionate, she's always able to look at things from the other person’s perspective…” He stopped as he thought about the unnamed boy that now haunted his dreams. 

“It… It sounds like you really admire her.” Marinette commented, her tone slightly sad. Adrien glanced down at her in surprise. 

“Yeah I do, but what about your partner? What's he like?” Adrien asked, hoping to get her mood back up. He didn't know why she got upset, but respected her privacy.

“Oh, my partner! He’s great! I mean he can be kinda annoying ‘cause he tells puns a lot, but he can be serious when we need it. He's really kind and caring, and is very open about his feelings unlike a lot of people these days.” She said, brightening instantly. 

“It sounds like you really admire him also.” Adrien commented. “But I disagree with one part. Telling puns is NEVER annoying!” Marinette groaned as Adrien laughed.

“Please don't tell me you’re a pun master as well.” She implored.

“I think my puns are pawsome! But that's just my purrsonal opinion.” She groaned again, contemplating if someone could die by too many bad puns. 

“Oh joy. First it's memes and now it's puns, how awful of a person are you?” Marinette asked, chuckling. Adrien laughed as well, and the two relished this relaxed moment of teasing. 

“Pretty awful if you think puns and memes are bad.” He replied through his laughter. They chatted a little more for the rest of the night, before agreeing that Alya and Nino probably weren't coming out of their tent for the rest of the night and decided to turn in for the night in their own tent. 

That night, Marinette didn’t wake up from a nightmare and Adrien didn’t wake with tears on his cheeks.

The next morning, everyone was in a good mood. Nino and Alya kept giving each other flirtatious glances while Marinette and Adrien would make faux gagging faces at one another every time the couple’s backs were turned. Alya hummed as she dished out canned peaches for all of them to dine on, and the jaunty tune only brightened the already light spirits. 

The azure sky was dotted with puffy white clouds and the cold air smelled faintly of pine. Barren tree branches reached up like claws, attempting to grab the cotton balls that floated in the sky. Wind rustled through the dry and brown leaves that scattered the grounds of the forest, and a raven cawed from one of the branches of a dead tree. Dark clouds formed in the distance, creating a grey-black barrier against the horizon. 

Things proceeded in camp as usual. Adrien and Alya did patrol, Nino counted inventory, and Marinette sewed up any holes in their clothes. The day was going smoothly, no different than any other, but things changed at sunset. 

As Alya was just about finished with scribbling down the day’s events in her journal (she had been keeping one since the whole thing began), a groan sounded out from the forest. She froze, her pen dangling mid air between her fingers. Nino became still as well, whipping his head towards the forest to see if he could locate the source of the noise. Adrien stopped braiding Marinette’s hair (which he had done regularly for the girls ever since they learned he knew how to braid, courtesy of being surrounded by hair stylists at a young age), his fingers still tangled in the midnight locks. 

No one dared to even breathe, waiting for anything to tip them off as to what was out there. 

The crunch of someone stepping on leaves, the footsteps heavy and laborious. 

Several more pairs of footsteps, approaching faster now. Still, no one moved.

Another groan was what it took to snap them all out of their trance, and Alya was up like a shot, darting across to the tent to grab her shotgun. Marinette tightened the grip on her hatchet, which she had been sharpening whilst Adrien braided her hair. Nino and Adrien both leaped for their knives, both landing dramatically in the dust and holding the weapons up in victory. 

Alya pumped her shotgun, and the group all bolted up to face their attackers. 

The zombies approached slowly, their feet shuffling against the dead leaves, creating a symphony of the dead. It was five of them, half decayed and swarmed with flies. The stench of rotting flesh was something one never got quite used to, so all kids held the urge to gag as the wave of scent washed over them. 

“I don’t wanna use this thing since it’s loud and might attract others, but I don’t have my axe on me. You guys are gonna have to handle this while I stay back here as backup.” Alya directed in a whisper. The other three nodded, and Marinette took charge.

“Got it. I’ll take the two on the far right, Adrien will get the middle, and Nino will get the two on the far left.” Adrien looked like he wanted to protest only being given one to fight, but knew it would only incite more pointless arguing and they didn’t have time for that. 

“‘Kay then on three, ready?” Marinette asked. The boys nodded, tightening the grip on their knives. 

“One, two…” They all held their breath.

“Three!” They launched into action. Nino immediately knifed his first target in the eye, and then began grappling with his next opponent as he attempted to get a leg up. Adrien wrestled with his corpse, holding it back from his face before he was able to shove his knife in its forehead. Then he looked around to see if either of his friends needed help. Marinette kicked the leg out from her first attacker, and quickly shoved her hatchet in its skull. But then, the second zombie came up behind her and wrapped its arms around her body, lifting her into the air. She began to scream, barely holding her neck away from its chomping jaws.

Adrien whipped around, and ran to where Marinette was. Since the creature’s arms were busy holding the flailing girl he was easily able to slide his knife through the back of its head, and it collapsed to the ground. Marinette grunted as she fell with it, and hastily began to extricate herself from its grasp. Adrien began to help her, when Nino let out a yelp. 

His knife clattered to the ground and Nino was trying to hold the monster at arm’s length, but its inhuman brute strength was winning. Alya bit her tongue, resisting to urge to blast a hole through the zombies gut, and watched as Marinette and Adrien both leaped on its shoulders like monkeys, and slid their sharpened tools through its head with ease. 

Once it fell to the ground with a thud, they breathed heavily in silence contemplating their win. 

“That… was… too… close.” Adrien said, in between breaths. “For… both… of you.” He looked pointedly at Marinette and Nino. 

“Yeah… I should’ve… been more careful.” Marinette replied, frowning as she recalled the tight, decaying flesh wrapped around her body. 

“Me… too… sorry dudes.” Nino said, an apologetic smile on his face. Alya put down her gun at his words and tackled him, half hugging him half squeezing him to death. 

“THAT WAS SO STUPID!” Alya roared, her arms slowly draining the life out of the DJ. “HELL YEAH YOU’RE GONNA BE MORE CAREFUL THAN THAT. I WAS ONE SECOND AWAY FROM BLASTING THAT THING THROUGH THE STOMACH!” Adrien and Marinette gave each other worried glances as Nino’s face slowly began to lose color as he gasped for breath, and with small giggles they managed to unhook Alya from him. Marinette held the girl back, knowing that if she let her go then the brunette would most likely slap the shit out of her boyfriend for his stupidity. 

After a moment, Alya calmed down and embraced Marinette much gentler than she had Nino. Then she let go, and a smile grew across her countenance. 

“I think this calls for a celebration. Anyone up for some wine?” She asked with a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. A chorus of ‘hell yeahs!’ greeted her, and she beamed as she pulled out the sacred treasure from its hiding place. 

They all sat around the fire, the light casting strange shadows across their faces. The stars twinkled brightly overhead, and the kids eyes twinkled brighter with the addition of alcohol. 

“Guys guys guys, let’s play… spin the bottle!” Alya said with a snort, an hour after they had begun their celebration. Everyone roared with laughter and nodded their heads enthusiastically, and Marinette was glad her face was already red from the wine, preventing the blush that was spreading across her cheeks from appearing unnatural. 

They all sat in a circle, their shoulders touching as the empty beer bottle they found next to the river sat in the center. The air was ripe with excitement and nervousness, none knew why they were playing a dumb middle school party game but it excited the alcohol-infused teens all the same. 

“Okay, rules. It has to be a kiss on the lips and it has to last for at least five seconds. No cheeks and none of that just a peck bullshit.” Alya declared. They all nodded, agreeing to the terms. “Okay then. I’ll go first.” She grinned evilly as she set her hand on the bottle, and Marinette giggled. She spun it and twirled around and around, slowing until it settled on… Nino.

“Oh come on this is too easy.” Alya complained. Nino just gave his girlfriend a shit-eating grin. Alya grabbed him by the shirt and planted her lips on his, and Adrien and Marinette turned away in mock disgust. The kiss lasted nearly fifteen seconds before Alya let go, and Nino was left breathless while the brunette sat down with a self-satisfied smirk. 

“Your turn bucko.” Alya said, pointing to the flushed Nino. He jumped slightly at the finger pointing at him, and hastily spun the bottle crossing his fingers that by some miracle it would land on his girlfriend.

He was severely disappointed when it landed on a certain blonde supermodel. 

“Goddamit.” Nino complained, while Adrien and the girls burst out into laughter. After the giggles calmed down, Adrien turned his best flirtatious grin onto Nino as he channeled his inner Chat. 

“Don’t worry, this is a good thing, after this you’ll be able to say you’ve kissed a model.” This only caused more laughter, and Nino decided to play along and become flirtatious himself. 

“Kissing you is always a good thing bae.” He said in a husky voice. Adrien blew a kiss towards him with a wink and Marinette had to gasp for breath as she laughed. 

“Don’t go stealing my man Agreste.” Alya warned with a smile. 

“Hey I can’t always help it, I don’t make everyone fall in love with my charm and good looks on purpose!” Adrien said dramatically, flipping his golden hair. 

“Sweetie, hate to break it to ya, but Adrien’s been my side ho for a while now.” Nino said, relaxing fully as Adrien nodded in agreement. Alya fake frowned, and the laughter died down as Nino scooted over to Adrien. Nino hesitantly moved his face closer to Adrien’s, and the girls watched with bated breath. Alya had never wished more that she had a camera so she could capture this moment. 

“Well, here goes nothing.” Nino muttered. Awkwardly their lips pressed against one another, but it couldn’t exactly be called a ‘kiss’. Alya counted the seconds with purposeful slowness, enjoying her boyfriend’s discomfort immensely. 

Once the time was up, they separated and Nino and Adrien stared at one another before bursting out into even more laughter while the girls joined in. 

“What the hell Agreste! Why are your lips so soft!? We don’t have chapstick here! For fuck’s sake your lips are softer than my girlfriend’s!” Nino asked, confusion apparent on his expression. 

“I dunno bro, guess it’s just the model in me.” Adrien said with a shrug. 

“It’s still weird.” Nino muttered. “Anyway, next turn. Marinette, you’re up!” Nino cheerfully pointed to the red-faced girl as she caught her breath. Once she calmed down, she gulped as she hesitantly put her hand on the bottle, and silently hoped it would land on Adrien. 

Twirling. A heartbeat. More spinning. Two subtly crossed fingers. Slowing. Time stood still as the bottle landed on none other than…

Alya. 

Marinette hid her disappointment and smiled, putting on a similar flirtatious air as Adrien had as the boys cheered and hollered. 

“Damn I was not expecting to see girl on girl action tonight!” Nino hollered. Alya punched his arm.

“Oh shut up and stop fetishizing that shit.” Alya reprimanded him. “You ready babe?” 

“Always ready to kiss you darling.” Marinette said in a ridiculously flirty voice, attempting to sound sexy but overall sounding lame. Adrien was now the one dying of laughter. Marinette slung her arm around Alya, and they both were having a difficult time holding back giggles as their noses almost touch. 

“Oh by the way Nino, Mari’s been my main bitch for years. You’re just my side ho.” Alya said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Without as much awkwardness as the boys, Marinette leaned in and kissed Alya, both smiling as Nino counted it down. Finally when it ended, Alya winked and they both chuckled while Adrien continued to die of laughter. 

Finally, it was Adrien’s turn. Everyone held their breath as he spun, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, there was a certain person he was crossing his fingers for the bottle to land on. 

Spinning. Puffs of breath in the frosty night. Time slowing down again. 

The bottle made one last spin, and slowed to land on none other than…

Marinette. 

Her face immediately bloomed beet red as Alya and Nino did a silent cheer. Adrien began blushing as well as his mental wish came true, and he smiled at the currently internally screaming Marinette. 

“HELL YEAH!” Alya shouted while Nino let out a whoop. The two teens both looked in surprise at their best friends, who simply gave them cheeky-ass grins. “Um I mean, carry on.” Alya said awkwardly, not wanting to ruin the moment. 

“Are you okay with this Marinette?” Adrien asked. 

“Um, yeah, totally, like of course! I mean like who wouldn’t want to kiss you like even um, Nino did, totally!” She stammered out, her face looking like it would explode. Adrien just giggled at her stuttering and Nino and Alya leaned in to watch. 

Their lips pressed against each other softly, and Marinette found that Nino wasn’t exaggerating, Adrien DID have freakishly soft lips. Neither of them heard Alya counting down the seconds as their lips moved in tune with an invisible metronome. Marinette’s hands found their way into Adrien’s thick blonde hair, and Adrien put his hands on Marinette’s neck. He cupped her face without thinking, and Marinette didn’t pay attention to the fact that the five seconds were up long ago. Adrien felt warm against her, and she felt like squealing as she kissed the boy she loved. 

Eventually, they both pulled away with flushed cheeks and swollen lips, and turned to see Alya and Nino watching them intently. Marinette blushed and turned away once she realized how long they had been kissing for, and Adrien did the same, not understanding how he lost himself so deeply in that kiss. 

“If only I had a camera.” Alya bemoaned, making everyone chuckle. 

Just then, a crash came from the bushes and everyone tensed, looking for their weapons; the joking atmosphere gone. 

Before Alya could grab the shotgun however, a man’s voice with a thick American accent cut through the shadows. 

“Whoa whoa whoa let’s just take it easy. I’m not gonna hurt you guys.” A figure became visible from the darkness, and the kids stared in awe as the man came into the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO GUESS WHAT ALL THAT FAKE FLIRTING WAS TAKEN FROM REAL EXPERIENCE THAT IS LITERALLY HOW THE GUYS IN MY CLASS AT SCHOOL AT TOWARDS EACH OTHER AND HOW I ACT TO MY FRIEND (who's a girl) 
> 
> Ohmigod it was so fun to write the fake flirting, like Adrien and Nino was literally so great to see how they would react to kissing each other :D
> 
> Also MY FAV CHARACTER IS COMING UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER I THINK SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW WHO IT IS
> 
> As always, thank you guys so much for reading and leave a kudos and a comment if you did!!! It makes me so happy to see comments! Also feel free to message me on tumblr!!!
> 
> my tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com


	13. A Stranger in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids meet their new guest...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I was on vacation on a cruise last week and the ship had bad wifi + I was really busy so I wasn't able to get something out for this. We're kinda sorta nearing the end I guess of this? I have the rest of the fic planned out so there's only gonna be three or four more chapters I think? (don't quote me on that) But after this things are gonna get REALLY angsty (I'm gonna start putting trigger warnings at these beginning notes) so just be prepared for the last bit of happiness for these poor kids
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

The dark shadows parted like a veil as the man stepped forth from the darkness, and the tense kids all gasped when they saw who he was. 

The man had semi-longish hair that was mostly black, with extremely faded purple at the very tips. His eyebrows were still miraculously styled with two flicks on the end, and his beard was still neatly shaved. He was wearing of all things a black glitter jacket (although most of the glitter had fallen off at this point) with dirty gold trim, torn yellow pants with black stripes, and a shark tooth necklace around his neck. 

It was rock star Jagged Stone.

“Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me.” Alya moaned as they gasped in recognition. 

“Y-you’re Jagged Stone!” Adrien stuttered out.

“Yes I am, or rather I guess we should say I was. The world’s a bit different since I last performed.” Jagged said with a chuckle. “Speaking of, I don’t mean you any harm. I just was just passing through and noticed your guy’s camp, and we all know it’s dangerous to be traveling by night. I was wondering if I could stay here for the night?” He asked, shrugging with a lopsided grin. Before Marinette, Adrien, or Nino could speak Alya lifted her arms in a shushing gesture, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the rock star. 

“First, drop all the weapons you’re carrying.” She gestured for Marinette to keep an eye on him, and quickly darted to the tent to grab her shotgun. Once the reporter came back, her preferred weapon in hand, she saw Jagged Stone holding his hands up surrounded by knives on the ground. 

“That’s all of them, I swear!” He said, pointing to the rather impressive pile scattered around his feet. Alya pumped the shotgun, causing Jagged to jump slightly, before jerking her head for Nino and Adrien to give him a pat down. The boys leapt up, and checked for weapons while Marinette casually twirled her hatchet around in her hand. 

“He’s good.” Nino declared after a few tense moments. The teens sagged in relief and Jagged Stone let out a sigh as well. 

“Sorry bro, you know how it is these days.” Alya said, no trace of apology in her voice whatsoever. 

“I get it, it’s fine. Gotta do what you gotta do to survive right? Anyway, I wasn’t going to ask to stay for nothing in return, I actually have a very coveted commodity on me right now I’d be willing to trade for shelter for the night.” 

“What is this ‘coveted commodity’?” Marinette broke in, letting the light reflect off her gleaming hatchet. 

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is something no one sees very often anymore.” Jagged reached into the satchel on his hip, and pulled out of all things, a full bottle of whiskey. 

“Holy shit.” Alya muttered while the others gasped in awe. 

“I haven’t seen any whiskey since this all started!”

“How on earth did you find that?!” 

“I say we should do shots!” The kids slurred voices intermingled into one wave of excitement. 

“Hey hey wait! We need to discuss this really quick as a group. If you wouldn't mind stepping back a little bit Mr. Stone.” Alya directed. The rock star nodded politely and stepped back several paces, and Alya leaned in to whisper to all of them. 

“Okay, I know we all really want that whiskey but do we trust him?” She whispered to the trio. 

“Dude that's Jagged Stone! Of course we should trust him!” Nino exclaimed loudly, earning a smack in the head from Alya. 

“Just because he was famous doesn't mean he's trustworthy! Where's his group? People don't travel alone these days! For all we know this could be a trap, he get us to fall asleep and then he calls his group in and raids the place!” Alya hissed. They all went quiet at that, pondering the possibility.

“Alya, that whiskey isn't just good for getting drunk. We could use it for pain in case one of us gets injured.” Marinette said softly after a moment. Adrien nodded. 

“She's right. There's a reason it's so hard to find that stuff nowadays. It's the second best thing to actual pain medication.” He said. Alya pondered this, biting her lip in concentration. 

“Shit. You guys have a point.” She scratched her head, turning over the pros and cons in her mind. “Fine! He can stay the night, but we have to be super vigilant. Got it?” They all nodded at their leader. “Good. Let's do this then.” They stood up and moved back to where they had been sitting, and Alya gestured for the singer to approach. He did so warily, unsure of what the decision had been.

“After discussing it with my group, we have decided that yes you can stay. But only for the night. And also please hand us that whiskey now.” Alya said, holding out her hand expectantly. Jagged reluctantly let go of the precious nectar, and Alya smirked as her fingers wrapped around it. “Here, you can come sit with us by the fire.” 

“Thanks guys.” He sat down across from the log they had all convened on, and an awkward silence permeated the air as no one had any idea what to say. The fire crackled, the orange glow being the only source of light due to the new moon that hung in the sky, like an all-seeing black hole. Finally, after several unbearably tense movments, Marinette broke the silence. 

“I've met you before.” She said quietly. Jagged Stone looked at her in surprise.

“I met a lot of my fans before this all went down. Sorry but I don't remember you.” He said bluntly.

“No, I didn't meet you at a meet and greet or anything. I designed a pair of glasses for you and one of your album covers.” She said, staring right at him. He gazed at her for a moment, scrutinizing the dark-haired girls features, before gasping as it hit him.

“Oh yeah! I do remember you! You designed me that awesome cover right in the middle of that whole XY fiasco right? I'm sorry, it's just been so long. What was your name again? Mari...Marinette!” He said, snapping his fingers at his victory. Adrien and Nino gaped at their friend while Alya gazed at her with a proud mother’s eyes, as Marinette giggled.

“Yep that's me.” Jagged grinned at the girl.

“Oh it's great to see you again! Good job on surviving! You don't see that many kids these days. In fact, you don’t really see much of anyone these days…” He trailed off, the words not needing to be said. 

“Wait. You designed an album cover for Jagged Stone and didn’t think to mention that when we were talking about his music a couple weeks ago?!” Adrien demanded with wide and impressed eyes. 

“Well, I mean, um…” Marinette blushed as she tried to come up with an excuse as to why she forgot to mention that crucial detail. “I kinda thought you wouldn’t believe me to be honest.” 

“She’s got a point. I wouldn’t have believed her, but now since Jagged Stone has confirmed it himself there’s no denying it. Mari’s awesome!” Nino said while Alya snorted.

“Well I already knew that.” Adrien said quickly, then began to turn a dark shade of red at his words. Marinette’s smile grew impossibly wide, and Jagged Stone watched the whole affair with amusement. Alya and Nino smirked at their ship.

“She is awesome. The cover’s still one of my favorites to this day.” Jagged chimed in, causing Marinette’ to blush even more. 

“C’mon guys I’m really not that great. I pretty much just knew my way around photoshop.” Marinette insisted. All three of her friends frowned at that.

“Okay, we know that’s not true. You are awesome, and you need to accept that.” Alya said, putting her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes. 

“Yeah Mari, you go out scavenging every week and always come back with a shit ton of supplies!” Nino chimed in. No one noticed, but Jagged Stone straightened up a bit at those words. 

“And you’re really good with that hatchet of yours.” Adrien added. “You kill the zombies quicker than all of us! Honestly, you’re really amazing.” Marinette was now the shade of artificial cherry medicine at her friend’s praise. Alya then stood up, holding the whiskey bottle she had in her hand.

“I say we propose a toast. One, to our guest Jagged Stone. And another, to Marinette’s awesomeness!” Alya announced. Everyone cheered and Alya popped off the cap, taking a small swig. She winced at the burn and then passed it to Nino. “Don’t drink all of it, let’s try to save at least half of the bottle, ‘kay?” She directed him. He nodded and took a similar sized drink. Then the bottle was passed to Marinette, who resisted to urge the cough as the sharp taste burned her throat. When Adrien was passed the bottle, his sip resulted in a huge coughing fit as he had never tasted the strong liquor before in his life. Marinette patted him on the back, and Alya took the bottle back and looked to the rock star seated patiently across from them. 

She sighed, knowing she would eventually regret this decision, and handed the bottle to him. 

“Here you can have a small sip to take the edge off.” She said. He nodded and did exactly that, handing the whiskey back to the girl immediately. Then, Alya put the lid back on and stored the liquor away in her tent, and everyone relaxed as the alcohol worked its way through them. 

The air got colder as the night wore on, the group chatting and laughing hysterically as they exchanged stories. Jagged Stone told wild tales of his past glory days, while the kids told stories about their many adventures since this had all started. The temperature dropped below freezing, and while it normally would’ve chilled them all to the bone, their warm clothes plus the alcohol kept everyone feeling comfortably warm. A blanket of onyx stretched above them, the pinpricks of light that were the stars appearing crystalline in the icy air. 

“And lemme tell you, that was the last demon summoning I ever did!” Jagged Stone said, finishing his wild story. The kids erupted into laughter, struggling to breathe as the hysterics tore through their bodies. They were all very intoxicated at this point in time, the evening’s wine combined with the night’s whiskey making a very strong combination of alcohol. Alya and Nino snuggling, Nino’s head laying in the auburn-haired girls lap. Marinette and Adrien were cuddling as well, Marinette somehow gradually having moved into Adrien’s embrace without either of them realizing it. 

“Wow that must’ve been crazy. That reminds me of this one time when-” Nino’s story was cut off by a loud groan emanating from the dark forest. Everyone froze, their hearts pounding as they began to search for the source with their eyes. It was quickly revealed, as the light of the campfire illuminated a singular zombie stumbling down towards the river, apparently not even having noticed them. It’s body was covered in ice, and it was struggling to move its frozen muscles. They all remained completely silent, and watched as the zombie tripped over the ground and landed right on a small patch of ice that had formed on the top of the freezing river. 

Oddly enough, as soon as its body hit the thin surface, the creature shattered into a million pieces like glass on a stone floor. A loud smash was heard, and the people stared in awestruck as the frozen fragments of decayed flesh were quickly rushed down the unfrozen section of water, disappearing into the abyss of unknown. 

It was silent for a moment, no one sure what to do. Then, in his drunken stupor, Jagged Stone broke out into song.

“RIVER RICER, THE ZOMBIE SLICERRRRRRRRR!” He yelled, playing air guitar dramatically. That broke the tension and everyone burst out into laughter, and spent the rest of the evening making that into a song for Jagged to release if the world ever got back to normal. 

Eventually, no one could hold their heads up anymore and the kid stumbled towards one tent, gesturing vaguely to the second for Jagged’s use who gladly accepted the offer. Once inside the warm fabric hut, Adrien and Marinette collapsed to one side, entangled in each other’s arms while Alya and Nino fell rather ungracefully onto the other side. As Marinette felt Adrien’s chest rising and falling against her own, her intoxicated brain made a rather daring decision. 

“I’m gonna do this while I’m still drunk enough to think it’s a good idea.” She whispered. Adrien opened his eyes, looking at her with confusion.

“Huh?” He asked. Instead of responding, Marinette tilted her face up, and with a racing heart, pressed her lips to his. He stiffened in surprise at first, but relaxed immediately at her touch. The kiss was short and loose, their bodies too exhausted from the day’s events to full register what was going on, but the intent was still received and as Marinette withdrew, Adrien grinned and pulled her close to him and she gladly snuggled in his chest. In their stupor, neither one of them even thought about their respective partners, and drifted off to unconsciousness with ease.

~~

Adrien and Marinette were harshly awoken the next morning by a screaming Alya outside the tent. Marinette’s eyes flew open and she quickly extricated herself from Adrien’s grasp, not even taking the time to register the intimate position they had been in. The girl stumbled out of the tent with a groggy Adrien on her heels, and the two tripped and fell out onto the dirt. Grumbling, Marinette pulled herself up and extended a hand to Adrien, and she heaved the boy to his feet. Then they ran over to where their friend was angrily cursing out the sky.

“I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!” She screeched, waving her fist at the blue clouds while her other hand gripped her shotgun so tightly her knuckles were white.

“Alya, what’s wrong?!” Marinette said as she arrived next to the girl. Alya scowled and whipped around to face the two confused teenagers. 

“That motherfucking pompous douchebag Jagged Stone STOLE ALL OF OUR SUPPLIES LAST NIGHT!” She said, her face contorted with rage. Marinette and Adrien gasped. 

“He did?! Are you sure?!” Adrien asked while Marinette began to ball up her fists in anger.

“YES I’M FUCKING SURE! ALL OF OUR SHIT IS GONE AND SO IS THAT ASSHOLE! I KNEW WE SHOULDN’T HAVE TRUSTED HIM!” Alya yelled, turning away as she began to pace back and forth. 

“Okay, Alya, calm down, it’s gonna be alright. He couldn’t have gotten far carrying all that stuff, it should be easy to find him and kick his ass.” Marinette said, putting her hands gently on his shoulders. Just then, Nino emerged from the second tent Jagged had been using, his mouth set in a grim line. 

“Good news, he didn’t take everything. Bad news, the stuff he left is pretty much all frozen by now so we can’t use it for anything but hitting zombies in the head with it.” He said, walking over to the group. 

“Do we have any idea of where he went?” Adrien inquired, looking around for any sign of the former glory. All their eyes scanned the ground before Marinette spotted what seemed to be a faint trail of blood leading out of their camp and onto the main ‘road’ out of there.

“Hey! I think he left a trail of blood there. Was he injured?” She asked.

“Not that I remember, but the metal cans can be kinda sharp when you open them so he might’ve cut himself on that if he tried to get a quick meal before he left.” Nino suggested. 

“Then we need to go after that asshole.” Alya said, putting her hands on her hips. 

“But some of us need to stay behind and watch the camp.” Marinette pointed out. 

“Fine. Then you and Adrien stay here while Nino and I get our shit back. C’mon, let’s go.” Alya said, turning and following the blood trail while gesturing for Nino to follow. He stared at Marinette and Adrien for a moment, before quickly turning and running to catch up with the very pissed off shotgun-wielding girl. Marinette and Adrien exchanged nervous looks, before walking back to try and get the campfire started again.

~  
Alya and Nino were quiet as they walked down the worn dirt path, the air thick with Alya’s anger and Nino’s guilt. The air was cold, biting at the bare flesh along their arms; their breath came out in small white puffs. Alya hadn’t thought to grab a jacket before they left the camp, her rage covering up everything else in her mind. The thin lines of blood along the ground were bright crimson against the dull beige, the scarce splatters highly visible in the morning light. Eventually, Nino couldn’t take the tense mood anymore.

“I’m such an idiot, I’m so sorry Alya this is all my fault!” He wailed, clutching at his hat as he walked. Alya glanced at him before looking forward again.

“What do you mean, how is this your fault? You didn’t help him steal our stuff did you?” His breath hitched at the accusation.

“What?! No of course not! I mean that I was…” He paused and sighed. “I meant that I was the one who was saying we should trust him. If I had been more cautious like you then we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Nino crossed his arms, holding his head low. Alya stopped walking, surprising the boy, and put her hands on his shoulders.

“No Nino, it’s not your fault. We all agreed to trust him as a group, no one person made the decision. Don’t put the blame all on yourself, this is all our mistake.” She said gently. He cautiously looked up and found the previous anger in her face was gone, replaced by a gentle smile. She hugged him, squeezing him tightly as if she never wanted to let go, before releasing him and giving the DJ a quick peck on the cheek. “C’mon, we need to catch this asshole before he gets too far away.” Nino nodded, feeling much better now, and they continued on their way. 

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally found what they were looking for. Piled in a heap on the side of the path, was a mass of purple hair and glitter jackets. Alya and Nino rushed over to the limp form of Jagged Stone, quickly pushing him over onto his back.

“Where’s the food? Do you see it anywhere?” Alya asked, her eyes darting around. 

“I think that’s his bag over there, our stuff’s probably in there.” Nino said, pointing to the leather satchel that was discarded a bit further up. She nodded and darted over to grab it, while Nino looked at the limp body of the rock star. 

His eyes were closed and his jaw was slack, Nino felt his wrist for any sign of a pulse but to no avail. Quickly examining his body revealed a bloody bandage around his arm that no one had seen the night prior, due to it being hidden by his jacket. Carefully, Nino unwrapped the gauze only to see one thing that made him gasp. 

It was a bite. 

Nino gazed in awestruck horror at the wound, now covered with blackened dry blood. It seemed to be over a day old, plenty long enough for it to do its work. Well, Nino now knew how he died. He was just glad the rock star had left camp before he tur-

The DJ gasped and went to scramble away from the body, but he was a second too late. The corpse of Jagged Stone lunged forward, pinning Nino to the ground. He struggled against the lifeless zombie, staring into the now milky blue eyes, but he was stuck beneath Jagged’s weight. Nino yelled for Alya to help him, his heart about to pound out of his chest with fear, when the zombie darted down and secured his teeth in Nino’s neck. 

Nino screamed as pain coursed through him, but before the zombie could go about feasting on the boy as it planned, the boom of a shotgun rang out and the corpse was thrown off of Nino, rolling down the bank and was sucked into the rushing river beneath them. The boy didn’t move, too shocked by what had just occurred to even attempt to stop the profuse bleeding coming from his neck. Alya rushed over, kneeling down beside him. 

“Oh my god Nino are you-” She froze when she saw the gory wound on his neck, her entire world spinning to a stop. Her heart lurched painfully, and her mind began to race with the scenarios of what would happen next. Nino stared at her with wide amber eyes, and she felt like time stopped as they experienced their own little eternity trapped within each other’s gaze. 

“No no no no…” She said once she snapped out of the trance, trying to stop the bleeding with her fingers. By some miracle, the zombie had missed all the important arteries, so the blood was already beginning to clot, although it wouldn’t do anything else but buy them more time before the inevitable. “Oh god, no NO! What are we gonna do?!” She yelled, tears beginning to burn in her eyes. Nino blinked, breaking out of his trance-like state, and raised his hand to caress her cheek with his thumb. 

“Sorry babe, guess I should’ve been more careful.” He said in a hoarse voice, wincing at the pain of his neck muscles moving. 

“No shit you should’ve been more careful!” She sobbed, salty tears carving rivulets down her dirt stained cheeks. 

“It’ll be okay, don’t worry we’ll figure something out.” Nino said, not believing his own words for a second. Alya’s breath came in short gasps. 

“No Nino, it’s not gonna be okay because-because…” She hiccuped as she attempted to spit the words out like a vile poison from her throat. “Because you’re BIT!” She wailed, tilting her head back. Before Nino could stop her, she let out a much needed scream, tearing through her chest like a caged animal. It reverberated throughout the forest, like the wail of a banshee, all along the trees and washing across the animals for all to hear. 

Anyone who would’ve heard it would’ve known that it wasn’t a scream of pain. 

It was obvious that it was a scream of heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DJWifi man :( Well now you guys can probably tell shit is going downhill now and it's only gonna get worse so PREPARE FOR THE ANGST
> 
> Also my beta came up with the RIVER RICER THE ZOMBIE SLICER idea like two months ago and NOW I FINALLY PUT IT IN so I hope you enjoyed that part
> 
> #screwJaggedStone2k16
> 
> My tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com
> 
> Don't forget to leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed! They always makes me super happy! Also don't feel shy, message me on tumblr if you want!!! Love you guys <3


	14. Between the Promise and Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group deals with Nino's injury, when the universe screws them over again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK AND READY TO BREAK HEARTS BITCHES (jk love you guys) (but seriously this chapter is full of angst)
> 
> Sorry this took so long! I have another fic called Across Time and Space I'm writing at the same time as this so I was distracted trying to get that chapter out and then once I did I was having trouble pushing through this. But WOOO now we're getting into the heavy angst in the final few chapters! Things are gonna be real intense in this one, so I hope y'all like angst. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: In this chapter there is talk of suicide and/or actual suicide and just death in general so be warned
> 
> As always thanks to my beta Jewel YOU ARE AWESOME EVEN IF YOU DO YELL AT ME ABOUT COMMAS
> 
> Enjoy! ;)

Alya managed to carry Nino back to camp in her arms, her throat ragged and sore from her wails. Each step felt like another person had taken it, like someone was controlling her body for her because she was incapable. Nino kept talking to her in a scratchy voice, trying to keep her from breaking again. Tears streamed down her cheeks, falling down like raindrops onto the boy’s shirt. But after what felt like an eternity of walking, Alya finally stumbled into the campsite. 

“HELP!” She screamed the moment her knees hit the ground, Nino’s weight too heavy for her to take for any longer. Marinette and Adrien immediately turned from where they had been nervously patching up a holes in their clothes (Marinette had been teaching the boy how to sew), and they both gasped as they saw the sight before them. 

Alya was a wreck. The girl’s reddish-brown hair was askew, pointing in ten different directions. Her face was pink and blotchy, the hazel eyes Marinette knew so well puffed up from crying. But what really got Marinette’s attention was Nino, who was lying limply on the ground in front of Alya, his face paler than she’d ever seen it before. Blood was splattered all over his bright blue shirt, turning darker the closer it got to his neck. His eyes were glazed and unfocused, gazing absently into the sky as he gripped Alya’s hand. 

The two rushed over to the duo at breakneck speed, both dropping the clothes into the dirt without thought. They both gasped as they saw the wound on Nino’s neck, and Adrien’s heart seized as he felt himself freeze up. 

“What happened?!” Marinette demanded, staring blankly at the injured boy in front of her while Adrien knelt down and grasped his best friends hand.

 

“I-I-we, um, Jagged Stone, and the stuff, and a zombie, and-and-and-” Marinette waved her hand to cut off the babbling girl. 

“Calm down and talk slowly. What happened?” She asked again. Alya stared at her for a moment, unable to put the words into sentences. Nino spoke before she could though. 

“Can, like, someone get me some bandages?” He asked in a scratchy voice. They all blinked, their friend bringing them back to reality, and Marinette leaped to her feet before anyone else could. 

“I will!” She declared, heart pounding in her ears and she stumbled towards the tent for bandages. All of them were in such a haze of shock that bandaging the wound hadn’t even occurred to them, and Marinette chastised herself for her stupidity. Grabbing the first aid kit, she leapt over the log that acted as the bench by the campfire, feeling as if it took much too long to fall back down to the ground. Within seconds she was back by her friend’s side, and opened the box with shaky hands. 

Thanks to having dealt with injuries before, Marinette skillfully placed the gauze on top of where the now slowing blood flow was originating. Her deft fingers began to bandage the wound, but Adrien’s hand suddenly fell on top of hers. 

“Don’t you need to disinfect it first?” He asked. Marinette froze, gasping as she realized her mistake and was about to profusely apologize before Nino cut her off.

“No man, there’s no point.” Nino said casually. Adrien furrowed his brow in confusion, tilting his head slightly as he gripped his friend’s hand tighter. 

“What do you mean? Of course there’s a point, you can’t get an infection! This isn’t a lethal injury Nino!” 

“Adrien… I was bit.” Nino explained, a sort of grim calm having taken over his normally cheerful tone. It was as if those three words were a magical spell, causing everyone’s entire disposition to darken. Those three simple words sent Adrien’s mind crashing into emergency mode, his brain shutting down as he struggled to comprehend what Nino meant. 

“Bit? What do you mean? You couldn’t have been bit, you couldn’t! We-we-we’ve been through way more dangerous things without getting hurt, there’s no way!” Adrien protested, his mind screaming at him the reality of the situation. His eyes began to burn with tears as he slowly drew closer and closer to the only conclusion there was. “Nino-Nino, no! You’re my best friend! You can’t die, you just can’t!” He said, his voice breaking. 

“I’m sorry, I fucked up.” Was all Nino responded. A sob tore it’s way out of Adrien’s chest like a wild animal, and he wasn’t able to hold back the dam of emotions that welled up in him. 

“Please Nino, no! No! I can’t lose you! You’re like my brother!” He whimpered. Nino just weakly squeezed his hand in reassurance, and Adrien looked up to see Marinette and Alya were crying as well. Tears fell onto the injured boy’s skin as Marinette bandaged him up, and Adrien tried to calm himself lest he cause Nino to freak out as well. Once the bandages were on, Marinette and Adrien worked together to lift their friend up as gently as possible and lay him in the tent. Alya watched the whole affair with a blank face, not moving as the tears dried on her cheeks. 

After that, a grey cloud fell over the camp, both literally and figuratively. Adrien and Marinette stayed by Nino’s side for a few minutes after moving him, giving him water and such before he became too tired to talk, the blood loss clearly getting to him. Although they were afraid of him waking up a zombie, they knew it took at least several hours to turn depending on the location of the bite, so they were safe for the moment. Moving out of the tent, the two found Alya still kneeling in the same position she had when she fell into the camp, and wordlessly Marinette took her down to the river to wash the blood off of her. The girl didn’t say anything, just allowing herself to be pulled along by her best friend. 

That left Adrien to sit alone and twiddle his thumbs, which was the very last thing he wanted to do in that moment. The boy knew that if he was left alone with his thoughts in that dark moment, he would fall into a pit of despair and grief that Nino didn’t need to see right now. So instead he went right back to what he had been doing before Alya came back, picking up the clothes he and Marinette had been sewing and brushing the dirt off of them. He finished closing the hole in his sock rather quickly, and grabbed Marinette’s joggers and began working on those. 

As he sewed, Adrien heard life going on around him as if nothing was wrong. Frigid air blew across the sky, causing goosebumps to raise along his arms. Birds chirped in the forest, their melodic voices intermixing with the river only to act as the soundtrack for the slow demise of a teenager thrown into a world of violence and despair no child should ever see. Time slowed, stretching out the minutes into what felt like hours of waves of despair licking at the forefront of Adrien’s thoughts. But he kept it at bay, focusing solely at the task at hand. 

Eventually, Marinette and Alya trudged their way back up the bank, both wet and shivering in the cold breeze. Adrien stood up, and hastily grabbing a change of clothes for both of them. He handed Alya her sweatpants and wifi sweatshirt, which she took without any hint of acknowledging his existence. Then he handed Marinette the joggers he had just finished sewing along with the softest t-shirt she owned. Even if he had never been through grief like this before, he knew comfy clothes always made a person feel a little better no matter what. 

While Marinette went into the tent to change, Alya was in such a haze that she just began undressing right in the middle of camp. Instead of trying to drag her out of this trance, which could possibly end up inducing more tears, Adrien just politely averted his eyes and went to check on Nino. 

Stepping inside the tent, Adrien immediately noticed it was much warmer than the outside air. Looking at Nino revealed the boy to still be sleeping soundly, and Adrien placed his hand on his forehead to check the DJ’s temperature. Sweat was beading at Nino’s brow, and his skin was burning hot to the touch, which could only mean one thing.

The fever had already set in. 

“Goddamit.” Adrien muttered under his breath. The noise caused Nino to stir, and Adrien cursed himself for waking his friend up as Nino blinked open his eyes groggily. For a moment he looked around wildly in confusion, before he let out a sigh of relief and his gaze locked with Adrien’s. 

“You okay?” Adrien asked. 

“I feel like shit, but I’m not a corpse yet so I guess that’s good.” Nino said without a trace of humor in his voice. Adrien’s breathing hitched at the casual reference to his eventual fate, but he didn’t want to acknowledge the truth by saying anything. 

“I had a dream about my parents.” Nino said after a moment of silence. Adrien gave his friend a surprised look. 

“You did? What happened?” He inquired. Nino sighed and looked to the side, the experience still festering an old psychological wound. 

“Well, I can’t remember it clearly, but all I know is that I was back at home, before all of this started. My mom was making breakfast and my dad and I were on the couch watching TV, and nothing happened really, it was just super peaceful and I was… I was happy dude.” Nino said, a forlorn look in his eyes. Adrien gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry man, I shouldn’t have woken you up.” He said, feeling guilty for pulling Nino out of a reality in which he was with his parents, even if it was false. 

“Nah it’s fine, I mean I’m probably gonna be seeing them soon anyway right?” He said, painfully forcing cheerfulness into his tone that was so obviously fake it was pathetic. He was silent for a moment, before finally saying, “I-I...I don’t wanna die man.” His voice cracked as a tear forged a trail down his dirt-covered cheek. “I keep thinking that it’s eventually gonna sink in and I’ll just accept it, and no longer be scared, but it’s not happening. A small part of me keeps thinking, ‘maybe I’ll be the one who lives’ even though I know that’s bullshit.” Nino was crying now, and Adrien was getting dangerously close to that tipping edge as well. 

“Nino…” Adrien said, unsure of how to respond to that admission. But then his thoughts drifted back to the forever unnamed boy, and how he had accepted his death only to gain an insatiable desire to be the one in control of his fate. “There… there was this thing that happened with Ladybug one time, that I never told you about.” He said quietly. Nino perked up in surprise at these words, looking at his friend expectantly. 

“W-when we went to the mall, and got those clothes a couple months ago, we ran into someone,” Adrien said, taking a shaky breath. “Just as we were leaving, this boy ran up to us. We thought he was hostile at first, but he started talking to us in english. He told us that his friends and family were all dead, that he even had to kill his boyfriend, and that the last thing he wanted was to turn into a zombie too. So…” He paused. “He begged us to let him use our gun, so he could kill himself.” Nino’s eyes widened, before he let out a low whistle. 

“That...that’s a pretty brave thing to do.” He said quietly. “Did you give it to him?” Adrien nodded.

“Ladybug made me hand it over. I-” 

“Adrien where are you?” Marinette’s voice called from outside the tent, interrupting his sentence. 

“I’m in here with Nino!” Adrien called back. It was quiet for a minute before Marinette’s voice rang through.

“Can you come out here for a minute?” She requested. Adrien looked to Nino, who nodded his head in reassurance that, yes, he’d be fine alone while Adrien talked to Marinette. 

“Sure!” Adrien got up, hunching over in the low roof of the tent, and felt Nino’s eyes burning a hole in his back as he walked out. 

The bright daylight burned his eyes as he stepped out into the frigid air, his eyes having been adjusted to the gloomy tent. After a few seconds the burning subsided, and Adrien walked over to where he saw Marinette rubbing Alya’s back, who was staring off into space. 

“How’s Nino doing?” Marinette asked as soon as he approached. 

“He’s okay for now, but the fever’s already set in.” He said grimly, staring at the ground. Marinette cursed under her breath while Alya had no reaction, her eyes as empty as a sheet of paper. It was quiet for a moment, no one sure of what to say, before Marinette spoke. 

“Isn’t there any way we can save him?” She asked in a tiny voice. 

“I wish.” Adrien said mournfully, sitting down on the log next to the girls. He watched Alya for a moment, and she didn’t even blink. “Alya? Alya are you okay?” 

“She hasn’t spoken since we took Nino to the tent. I hope she’ll be okay, but so far she hasn’t responded to me at all.” Marinette said quietly. 

“It must be the shock.” He concluded. 

“Yeah, the shock.” She agreed. Suddenly, a shuffling was heard from the tent and Nino opened the flaps, his face pale as he weakly stood. Adrien and Marinette tensed at his zombie-like appearance as Adrien’s mind began to race with wonderings as to how he could’ve turned so soon. But then,

“What are you guys talking about out here?” He asked them. They both sighed in relief, sagging against the log with the realization that they still had some time. 

“Mari just wanted to know how you were doing.” Adrien answered. “You shouldn’t be up, you need your rest if-”

“If what? If I’m gonna get better?” Nino said, cutting the boy off as he was getting up to help his friend. “Because we all know that ain’t happening.” Nino spat the words out like poison, his face twisted into a bitter expression. 

“Oh, Nino-” Marinette began, before Nino cut her off as well. 

“Enough with the ‘oh, Nino’ bullshit. I know you guys are trying to be sympathetic and all, but it’s annoying the shit out of me! I’m dying, that’s a fact, and as much as I hate to admit it, we all know I’m not gonna be here tomorrow.” The words stabbed Adrien like a knife, and he winced at his friend’s bluntness. 

“Please don’t talk like that.” Adrien pleaded. He opened his mouth to add to the statement, but stopped when he received a withering glare from the boy, and shrunk under the severity of Nino’s amber eyes. 

“Why not? It’s the truth! Do you think I like thinking about dying? About the fact that I’m gonna devolve into nothing more than a mindless killer, losing all sense of thought and emotion and-and-and everything that makes me human!?” He yelled, struggling to get out of the tent with his shaky legs. “The waiting is the hard part. Just sitting here, feeling myself come closer and closer to being a corpse, it’s driving me insane. Honestly it’d just be easier to-” He abruptly stopped his sentence, and his eyes alighted with an idea. A slow grin spread across the boy’s face, and Adrien’s heart began to beat erratically as a strange sense of deja vu came over him.

“It’d be easier to what?” Marinette asked, her voice shaky. Nino looked at her, his face now devoid of anger and filled with a sense of resignation and tired happiness.

“It’d be easier for me to just kill myself and get it over with, so that way none of you have to do it yourselves once I turn. You don’t have to worry about zombie me attacking the camp, I don’t have to suffer through any more waiting, and none of you have to live with the guilt of having killed… having killed me.” He said, his tone calm and hopeful. This seemed to snap Alya out of her trance, as she stood up and faced Nino and spoke before Marinette or Adrien could. 

“No.” She said, stepping over to where the DJ was standing. “No, you can’t just give up like that.” Her voice was hoarse, filled with empty promises that would never be fulfilled. Alya grabbed his arm, dragging him over on unstable legs to the log, and reluctantly he sat down next to her. 

“Alya, please. It would be so much easier-”

“I said no. You aren’t giving up.” She said resolutely, folding her arms over her chest.

“It’s not giving up if you have nothing to hope for.” Nino stated quietly but firmly. Everything seemed to still at that, everyone holding their breath as they waited for the next words to be flung into the air. “Please. You don’t understand, I just want to control the only thing I can now. I don’t want any of you guys to have killing me on your conscience, or worse, I don’t want to hurt any of you.” Alya was crying again, and wrapped her arms around Nino, leaning her head into his shoulder. 

“Please, just let me die the way I want to.” He begged, uttering the words into the empty sky. Adrien winced, thinking back as he always did to the unnamed boy that haunted him. Marinette gasped, as if physically wounded by his words, and took a step back. 

Before any of them could think of a coherent response however, the universe decided to screw them over yet again and the groan of a zombie rang out from the trees. But instead of being a singular groan, a chorus of voices sounded out along with it creating a roar of the undead. 

Everyone stopped breathing. 

The noise continued to sound, accompanied by a melody of crunching leaves and snapping twigs so that the kids were able to easily infer that the amount of zombies approaching was by no means a small one. After a few seconds, the trance broke and Marinette leaped to her feet. 

“We need to move, now. Everyone, go grab your bags. Adrien, grab the food and water we have left. Alya, grab Nino’s stuff for him. I’ll get our weapons.” She ordered. No one moved. “COME ON!” She shouted, finally spurring the group into action. Everyone except Nino ran into the tents, grabbing their backpacks and hastily packing their clothes. 

Marinette found her Ladybug garb, and pulled her goggles over her head while throwing her coat over her shoulders, figuring the jacket wouldn’t fit in the bag. Then she grabbed Alya’s shotgun and her own hatchet, along with Adrien and Nino’s knives, tucking them into her pockets as best she could. Alya was across from her, doing the same thing, and Marinette handed her the shotgun as she ran back out towards Nino. After a few more seconds of packing, Marinette stepped out of the tent mourning the fact that there would be no way to take the shelter with them so quickly. 

As she exited the tent, she squinted behind her goggles and saw the giant horde of zombies was now at the tree line, and fast approaching them. She saw Alya struggling to get a coat onto Nino, all while glancing nervously at the approaching enemy. Then, Marinette whipped her head around to where Adrien was emerging from the food tent, only to see none other than...

Her scavenging partner Chat Noir, zipping up the bag of food she had just told him to grab. 

He turned towards her, and his eyes went wide behind his goggles. His cat ears were missing, but otherwise he was wearing his usual attire. Even with the blaring obviousness of it all, it still took the girl a few moments to put the pieces together in her mind. 

“Adrien?!” She shrieked, feeling stupid and terrified at the same time. 

“Marinette?! YOU’RE Ladybug?!” Adrien asked in a shrill voice, staring at her in shock. 

“YOU’RE Chat Noir?!” She asked right back. 

“We don’t have time to deal with your stupid love square WE GOTTA GO!” Alya yelled at them, struggling to get Nino to stand. He was paler than before, and was barely able to hold up his own weight. His rant had clearly expended a lot of energy. 

“We’ll deal with this later.” Marinette said to Adrien/Chat. He nodded and the two rushed to their friend, helping Alya get him on his feet and slinging his arm around her shoulders. They would’ve helped carry him as well, if not for the zombies, some of which were much too close for comfort. 

“Kill the closest ones, and we’ll try to carve a path through.” Marinette ordered. Adrien nodded and the two ran forward, working in unison to dispatch corpse after corpse. She had never killed so many zombies in such a short period of time before, but she wasn’t paying attention to anything but the sole goal of getting her group to safety. She yelped as nails dragged down her back and cut through her skin, winced as fingers tore at her face leaving dozens of claw marks along her cheeks, but no jaws came near her flesh. Down and down like puppet soldiers the zombies fell, but no matter how many they stabbed they just kept coming. Then, a corpse appeared behind her, and lunged for her neck. Marinette knew she couldn’t move out of the way in time, so she closed her eyes and wished for it to be quick. 

The boom of the shotgun rang out, shattering Marinette’s imminent death tranquility, and she opened her eyes to see her soon-to-be reaper lying on the ground with half it’s skull gone. Whipping around, she saw Alya standing determinedly with the shotgun, Nino sitting on the ground next to her. She had moved forward with them into the forest, and was now surrounded by zombies that were quickly encroaching upon the DJ and the journalist. Glancing to her side, Marinette saw her and Adrien were at the edge of the fray, and that the monster’s were no longer paying attention to either of them. 

“Alya, what are you doing we gotta go!” Marinette shouted to her best friend, who made no attempts to pick Nino up and escape. 

“I’m sorry Mari but I don’t think I’m getting out of this one.” Alya replied, sending another zombie flying backwards. “Nino can’t walk, and I’m not leaving him.” She said, gesturing to him. “Besides, it’s my fault they’re all here anyway. I shouldn’t have screamed so loudly when Nino got bit. My screaming combined with the shotgun is what led them here, I need to face what I did.” 

“Alya no!” Marinette shrieked, tears burning her eyes as she felt herself shatter into a million different shards. “C’mon you can just run, we can still get out of this together!” Alya just shook her head, shooting another approaching zombie. 

“I’m so sorry, but there’s no way I’m leaving Nino to the mercy of these monsters.” She said, glancing down at the now unconscious boy. 

“You can’t expect me to leave you to their mercy either!” Marinette said in a broken sob. 

“You have to, trust me, I’d just be miserable without Nino anyways. This really is the best option for everyone, we’ll keep them distracted long enough to escape.” Her words and tone were logical, but Marinette could see the shining tears reflecting off her cheeks. “I love you Mari, more than anyone else I’ve ever known. You’re smart and brave and radiant, don’t ever lose that.” 

“How do you expect me to go on without you?!” Marinette cried. 

“You’ll be okay, you and Adrien will have each other. You’re strong, so much stronger than you think you are. I know you two will be fine together.” She paused, and then glanced to Adrien who was now standing next to Marinette. She hadn’t even noticed him there. “Adrien, you’re the kindest person I’ve ever met. I’m so glad we met you, and I know you’ll keep Mari safe for me. I also know Nino thought you were one of the best people he ever met, and he’d want you to know he said that before he died.” 

“Alya, please don’t do this.” Adrien said in a sob, tears streaming down his cheeks as well. 

“I know it’s tough, but you two will have each other. Now Adrien, I need you to do one last favor for me. In a few seconds here I’m gonna have to stop shooting, and the circle’s gonna close in. When that happens, Marinette’s gonna try and run to me, and I need you to swear you’re gonna hold her back and not let her try to get me and Nino because she will die.” Alya said in a dead serious tone. Adrien gulped, not wanting to have to make a promise like that, but knowing she was right. 

“I-I promise.” He said after a moment, ignoring Marinette’s glare. Alya relaxed, her face lighting up in relief as her biggest worry disappeared. “But promise me something too.” He requested. Alya straightened up, and stared the boy straight in the eyes. 

“I know what you’re gonna say, and don’t worry, I’m gonna make sure neither of us turn.” Her voice had a specific air of finality, so that neither of them had to question what her vague words meant. They knew what she planned to do. “I’m gonna stop shooting now. I love you both.” She put the gun down and it took only seconds for the circle to block their view of the girl. Marinette’s last sighting was of Alya grinning sadly, waving to the duo as her smile crumpled into sobs. 

Before Marinette could make a move, Adrien’s iron grip was around her wrists, preventing her from running forward like she so desperately wanted to. 

“LET ME GO! ALYA! ALYA NO! STOP!” She shrieked, twisting and writhing in an attempt to push her way through and rescue her best friend. “ALYA! ALYAAAAAAA! PLEASE! ADRIEN, I’M BEGGING YOU, LET ME GO! PLEASE!” She continued to scream these words, the sobs wracking her chest making her words nearly indecipherable as stars tumbled to their feet in Marinette’s end of the world. 

“I’m sorry to do this but I made a promise!” Adrien said, before lifting the squirming girl up and hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He was much stronger than she had ever expected, or perhaps that was just the adrenaline that gave the blonde the ability to hold the flailing girl in place. 

“LET ME GO! NO! ALYAAAAAAAA!” Marinette wailed, kicking her legs in failed attempts to break free. Adrien walked, taking Marinette with him, as they left the mass behind, and it was a few seconds before they heard the first gunshot echo around the clearing. 

Adrien froze and Marinette stopped screaming, and within a few moments a second gunshot reverberated throughout the forest, and everything went silent. 

Marinette stopped struggling and Adrien put her down, and she wordlessly pulled him into a hug. The two of them sobbed, salty tears intermingling as Marinette pulled her goggles off and shoved her face into his chest, while he pulled his own goggles off and buried his nose into her hair. In that moment, they were neither Marinette and Adrien, or Ladybug and Chat Noir, rather they became one as they shared the grief and pain that had been inflicted upon them that day. 

Night began to fall around them, hanging somewhere between the promise of the moon and it’s eventual fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY DOES WRITING ANGST SATISFY ME SO MUCH I HAVE NO IDEA
> 
> I hope I made you all get the feels, please comment below if you enjoyed/died inside like I did when writing this
> 
> In case you were wondering what music I listened to to get the proper feelings of sadness, some of my fav angst songs are:  
> Here With Me by Susie Suh  
> Obstacles by Syd Matters  
> Spanish Sahara by Foals (if you played Life is Strange you know why this is so sad)   
> Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine
> 
> My tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com
> 
> Love you all!!! Also kudos to the commentor Im Hurt who guessed the plot of this chapter, GOOD DEDUCTIVE SKILLS I SAW YOUR COMMENT I JUST DIDN'T WANNA REPLY AND SPOIL ANYTHING


	15. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of their friends deaths, Marinette and Adrien figure out where to go from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS THIS FIC ISN'T DEAD (heh dead)
> 
> Sorry this chapter took FOREVER. I don't know what happened, I just wasn't able to write this for the longest time. But hopefully I'm gonna be able to get the ball rolling again and finish the fic within a few weeks (no promises though)
> 
> Since it's been so freaking long you might wanna reread the last chapter just for more emotional impact, but it's definitely not necessary lol

Eventually, after both Adrien and Marinette ran out of tears to shed, they silently made their way through the forest and into the city. Their moods were thick with grief, so no silly words or sharp smiles passed between them as they usually did when they traversed the rooftops of the abandoned suburbs. After an hour of traveling, Adrien recognized the area they were in and knew they had a place to go. Grabbing Marinette’s arm, he led her to where he and Nino had previously had their camp.

 

The damp alley looked dreary and cold in comparison to the Garden of Eden that was their old camp. The pathetic piece of fabric that acted as a makeshift tent for the boys when they lived there was still hanging, blowing lightly in the breeze just as they had left it. As soon as they stepped into the dark corridor, a drop of water fell atop Marinette’s head and she glanced up just as the sky let go and began to shower them with rain. 

 

“So… this was Nino and mine’s old campsite.” Adrien said absently, gesturing vaguely around him. Marinette nodded, and sat down on the blood-stained wet cardboard that they had left as the makeshift floor, setting her bag down beside her. Adrien stepped over to the pile of wood he had left in the corner, relieved when he saw it was somehow just dry enough to make a fire out of.

 

Marinette watched with blank eyes as the blonde piled the wood in the small stone circle that had acted as a fire pit, her head resting on her knees as she thought of nothing. Kneeling down, Adrien began to look around for some kindling, and Marinette reached in her bag and pulled out Alya’s journal that she had managed to grab. The boy watched as she silently ripped several blank pages, making sure that the book itself wasn’t damaged by the action. 

 

After the fire was lit and burning brightly, Adrien say back down besides Marinette and neither of them spoke for several minutes. Unlike before, when the silence wrapped them in its reassurances, now the lack of speaking was suffocating. Marinette had to put all her focus on the dancing of the flames, lest she think back to what had occurred not even hours before. 

 

Unfortunately, fire can't distract one’s thoughts for very long, and Alya’s last moments leaked back into Marinette’s mind. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as Alya’s fear-filled face appeared in her mind’s eye, and a sob tore its way through her chest like a wild animal forced from pure grief. Adrien glanced over to her, and she saw he was crying as well. Wordlessly, she leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her, and their emotional dams broke. They cried into each other’s shoulders, grasping for any measure of comfort that the other could afford to give. 

 

Marinette’s fingers gripped Adrien’s shirt so tightly her knuckles turned white, and Adrien was squeezing her so hard she was having difficulty breathing. But neither complained, too wrapped up in their mourning to care. They curled into one another, not even feeling the heat of the fire, and eventually exhaustion overcame the couple as they cried themselves to sleep.

 

The next morning, the sun peaked over the edge of the surrounding rooftops, and its rays gently fell across the intertwined duo’s sleeping forms. Marinette’s waking was a slow revelation, with her gently rising from the sweet empty darkness into the pain of reality. She blinked open her eyes to find she was wrapped in Adrien’s embrace, her head pressed against his chest. His unexplainable fresh scent surrounded her, and she relaxed into his hold. 

 

She felt him rise into consciousness, his steady breathing quickening as his heartbeat sped up. She felt him stir behind her, and decided to announce her own wakefulness.

 

“Morning.” Marinette said gently. Adrien stiffened when he realized the position they were in, but relaxed when she snuggled closer to his chest. 

 

“Morning.” He replied in a soft voice, not wanting to break the peace and tranquility of their bubble by speaking louder than necessary. Silence reigned for a moment, both letting the memories of the day previous filter through their mind’s eyes. As expected, tears began to leak down their cheeks, carving paths through the dirt stains that covered both of their faces. 

 

But unlike the previous night, this time Adrien and Marinette’s shared sobs of grief were not loud and violent, but rather silent and subtle. For the umpteenth time, the memory of Alya sadly waving goodbye as the crowd of zombies encroached upon her and Nino replayed in Marinette’s mind. A searing pain ripped through her heart, the emotional hurt feeling very very real in this moment. Marinette clutched the arm wrapped around her tighter, trying to pull herself back to the present by reminding herself of Adrien’s presence. Adrien didn’t mind, and was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even realize Marinette was squeezing his arm in a near death grip. 

 

They stayed like that for an unknown amount of time, letting the events of yesterday sink in all over again. Eventually though, the tears began to slow, and Marinette’s rational side returned to her. As much as she wanted to stay in the blonde’s arms and spend the day encased in the familiar warmth, she knew they couldn’t stay in the alley. The city was swarming with zombies and unfortunately, this camp wasn’t exactly a fortress. In just a few seconds they could become trapped by a horde of zombies with no way to escape, which would leave them both with only the same two options Alya had. 

 

Marinette was not going to let that happen.

 

Shifting, she extricated herself from Adrien’s hold, and groggily stood up. Adrien didn’t make any noise of acknowledgement, and instead just stood up alongside her. Sighing, her hand found his and they both squeezed, the physical reassurance that yes, he was there, and no, she hadn’t lost him, making her shoulders sag slightly in relief. 

 

“We can’t stay here.” She announced, wincing at how hoarse her voice sounded. Adrien nodded in agreement, glancing around the pitiful excuse for a camp. 

 

“Yeah, it’s definitely not safe. Where do you think we should go?” Marinette was surprised by the question, not expecting Adrien to simply leave it all up to her. But then again, it’s not like they had any particular place they needed to go. It wasn’t like this was an adventure novel or anything. So she bit her lip as she pondered their options, trying to think of what the safest place would be to travel to. 

 

“Honestly, I have no clue. We can’t go south because we saw all those survivors heading there. That many live people in one general area… that’s just a bloodbath waiting to happen.” They both shivered at the mental image. “We could… We could…” She scratched her head in thought. 

 

“We can’t stay here.” Adrien pointed out.

 

“Obviously. This city has more zombies every day, soon enough it’s going to be completely taken over,” She said in reply, groaning with frustration. She was about to say ‘fuck it, let’s just throw darts on a map’, when an idea struck her. “What about Paris?” Adrien laughed sharply, nothing funny at all about the noise. 

 

“Really? Paris? Are you insane? That place is going to be completely run over with the living dead, even more so than it is here.” He asked incredulously. Marinette rolled her eyes and let go of his hand to face him. 

 

“I know it seems that way but actually that probably isn’t the case. When this whole fiasco began everyone was scrambling to leave Paris as quickly as possible, so of course it was a massacre, especially due to high traffic. This means almost the entire population of the city was probably turned or eaten within the first few months, leaving no more fresh meat for the corpses. And what do zombies do when there’s no food around?” Marinette questioned, raising her eyebrows at the blonde. His eyes slowly widened with understanding.

 

“They migrate to find more,” He said, comprehension dawning across his face. “Which means most of the zombies probably left the city a while ago to find those who made it out of the city.” 

 

“And naturally dispersed once they got to the country, yup.” Marinette finished, feeling proud of herself for realizing that. “So that means that Paris is most likely not that much more populated with zombies than this city. And considering most survivors are thinking the same thing we did about Paris being overrun, there’s probably still a bit of loot left, even if it’s not much.” 

 

“You’re a genius Marinette, I never would’ve thought of it that way.” For the first time since the previous morning, a small smile crossed Marinette’s face at Adrien’s praise.

 

“Thanks. Thing is though, if we’re traveling all the way to Paris, we’re gonna need some more supplies.” She said, looking at the small amount of food Jagged Stone had left them after stealing from them. She wanted to be angry with him, considering he was the one that had ruined everything and gotten her two best friends killed, but she simply didn’t have the energy anymore. Marinette was emotionally drained, and just wanted to get on the road and leave the city and its horrible memories behind. 

 

“Agreed. Maybe I could ask Ladybug-” Adrien stopped, glancing at Marinette with surprise as he recalled the revelation they had shared yesterday. Neither of them had mentioned it yet, both too caught up in their grieving to even think about the new level of complexity in their relationship that had been revealed. They both stared awkwardly at one another for a moment, before small peals of laughter escaped them. 

 

“You got Ladybug right here, Kitty. And I think the best place to get supplies would to do one major haul from the mansion.” Marinette declared, scratching her chin thoughtfully. 

 

“The mansion? As in that place we literally had to jump from the roof of a neighboring house to get into? Don’t you think that’s a little dangerous?” Adrien asked with a concerned expression.

 

“Adrien, we literally climbed into a zombie infested mall through a broken skylight. I don’t think this is that risky in comparison.” She said with a small smirk. 

 

“...you got me there.” He grumbled, knowing she was right. Marinette felt triumphant and took it upon herself to begin packing up what little they had, but paused when she picked up Alya’s journal. 

 

Her hands ran over the smooth leather surface, taking a moment to appreciate its weight in her hands. Inside this little notebook was the only remnants of Alya she had left. All of her thoughts, feelings, and experiences were all preserved in this small book, and that automatically made it Marinette’s most valuable possession. 

 

Carefully, she placed the book inside her pack, making sure none of the pages were bent. Then, she pulled out her goggles from when she had stuffed them in there the night before, and pulled the familiar accessory over her eyes. Her world became tinted in rose, and she glanced up to see her partner doing the same. 

 

Within seconds they had packed up the camp (although they hadn't really set it up in the first place) and were ready to go. Marinette pulled her Ladybug coat over her shoulders, and the two immediately set off without a second glance at the camp. They had only stayed there for one night, it wasn't as if the makeshift haven would be missed. 

 

As they traveled across the rooftops towards the mansion, Marinette felt the weight of all that had happened resting on her shoulders, slowing her down as she leapt through the air. The morning sky had quickly become blanketed by a thick white sheet of clouds, and it cast a grey tone across the entire city. It was as if even nature was in mourning for Alya and Nino, although Marinette knew it was just coincidence. 

 

Time passed and eventually the duo reached the familiar neighborhood. Ladybug and Chat Noir paused and surveyed the ground below, and were relieved to see no zombies shambling about. Marinette silently jerked her head to indicate they were jumping down, and held a finger to her lips so Adrien would stay quiet. If any zombies were nearby, it was better to try not to let them know of the scavengers presence. 

 

Their boots landed on the ground with a hard thud, and they glanced around with nervousness to see if that had attracted the attention of any nearby corpses. Thankfully, it hadn’t, and the world remained eerily quiet as before. With light steps, Ladybug led Chat across the street to the neighboring house they had gone through before, and they ran through it as quickly as possible to get to the roof. 

 

Their feet skirted the precipice of the roof, their hands intertwined as they gazed out over the fence and to the mansion. It had been several months since their last visit to the place, which hadn’t ended very well considering the duo had been forced to spend the night there. But this time, it would be different. They wouldn’t visit again after this raid. Whether they ended up going to Paris or somewhere else entirely, Marinette didn't want to be in this city one second longer. It held too many memories that were now painful instead of sweet, and she didn't want to be reminded of what was now lost.

 

They looked over the edge of the fence, and Marinette began to count down silently on her fingers. Adrien watched with bated breath, waiting for her signal to make the leap. 

 

3, her breathing began to quicken.

 

2, his heart was beating erratically.

 

1, they squeezed each other's hands.

 

Then, they jumped.

 

Marinette slammed onto the ground with a loud thud, and immediately rolled forward to lessen the impact. She gasped as her breath left her, and once she stopped moving she just sat there, trying to regain her thoughts.

 

A quick self-check revealed nothing had been broken, much to her relief, and she blinked open her eyes to the grey sky overhead. Marinette sat up with a groan, her legs still vibrating from the fall. Glancing over, she saw Adrien pushing himself to his feet, and he gave her a small grin.

 

“Nothing broken?” He asked, offering her a hand once he was standing.

 

“No, we’re all good.” She replied, letting him pull her to her feet. After a quick look around, they made their way to the lavish home, and ducked inside a blasted out window.

 

The home looked the same as it had before. Dust swirled in the air, the particles catching the faint light that shone in from the dreary sky. The entire house seemed to be in grayscale, all the color having been sucked out of everything. The carpet was still soft and lush beneath their boots, the expensive sculptures and paintings still hanging in place. Time was still, the old world permanently captured within the mansion’s walls. 

 

Ladybug and Chat stared blankly for a moment, surprised at just how little of a difference there was. Absentmindedly, Marinette pulled her goggles off her eyes and onto her head. Adrien ddi the same. Then, Marinette shook her head to snap out of her stupor, and made her way to the kitchen with Adrien following. 

 

They easily found the piles of food cans, and eagerly began to stack them in their bags. This time, Marinette also began grabbing water bottles and hoped they would find a water source on their travels. Too soon though, both of their packs were at the limit of being too heavy to carry. Marinette sighed, knowing this would only last them about a month at most. 

 

“It'll be okay, we’ll find stuff on the road.” Adrien reassured her, as if he had read her mind. She tried to give him a smile in return, but it was a pathetic attempt. 

 

“I'm gonna go check upstairs, make sure we didn't miss anything the first time.” Marinette said. Adrien nodded and returned to trying to stuff as many cans as possible into their bags. 

 

She went upstairs, and her feet went on autopilot. She gazed around at the numerous photos and paintings, faded by time but in pristine condition. Within seconds, she realized her feet had led her to the bedroom she and Adrien had spent the night in on their first scavenging trip. That day seemed like it had happened an eternity ago. She could still feel the warmth of Adrien’s body snuggled up against hers, and could still practically hear Alya’s yelling the next day.

 

She would give anything to hear Alya’s voice again.

 

The familiar sensation of oncoming tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let herself cry. It wasn’t even noon and she had already cried multiple times. What would Alya think of her? If Alya were here, she knew her best friend would tell her to get her shit together because she still had a job to do. She was drowning in an ocean of grief, and every time she managed to catch a breath, another wave crashed over her and sent her reeling. But she had to stay afloat. She couldn’t let herself sink into the dark depths of her mind because of one thing.

 

Adrien.

 

He needed her and she needed him. They were the only people they had left in this terrifying world. If Adrien wasn’t with her, Marinette knew she would’ve let herself die right by Alya’s side. He was the only reason she hadn’t given up. He was the only hope she had for any future happiness.

 

She wouldn’t let that get taken away from her.

 

And so, she swallowed her tears and balled her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into her palm. Pain blossomed in her hand as she broke the skin, and she could feel a small amount of blood beginning to seep between her fingers. That was good. Physical pain was good. It distracted her from the overwhelming emotional pain.

 

Turning on her heel, she walked right back downstairs and into the kitchen. She quickly saw that he was still crouched in front of the pantry, trying to organize their bags as efficiently as possible. Her sharp footsteps along the dusty tile made him glance up, and he frowned in confusion when he saw her serious expression. She thought he would ask what was wrong, and she didn’t want to answer because she wasn’t sure she could utter one word without breaking down entirely. But instead, he surprised her by just nodding, seeming to somehow know what she was thinking without her having to say it. He stood up, pulling up the two packs with him and held out his arm, offering her pack to her. She took it without a word, and gestured for him to follow her out of the house, which he did without question.

 

They were in for a nasty shock when they opened the front door.

 

It was a swarm. A swarm of the living dead shambling around the front door they had just entered near a few moments before. Marinette had no idea how they had gotten there. The property was fenced in! The gate had been securely shut when they had entered this place. That’s the only reason they had to jump off a goddamn roof to get here. What happened?!

 

“Oh my god!” Marinette exclaimed, leaping back into the house and dragging Adrien with her. She slammed the door shut and the two stared at each other with wide eyes.

 

“How the fuck did they get there?!” Adrien asked, his expression one of pure panic.

 

“I have no idea! They definitely weren’t there five minutes ago!”

 

“Well what the hell are we gonna do now?!”

 

“I don’t kno-“ Marinette was interrupted when a large thud came from the door. Their heads whipped towards the double doors, and leapt back slightly when another noise came from outside.

 

“The zombies! They’re trying to get in!” Marinette said fearfully, her heartbeat already beginning to spike. Adrien wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into his touch. It took her a moment to realize she was trembling violently. He turned her to face him, and looked her straight in the eye.

 

“It’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna find a way out of this. I promise.” He said, his tone full of conviction. Marinette nodded, feeling the fear already beginning to consume her. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t.

 

She wracked her brain, trying to figure out a plan. They could try to go through the back door, but where would they go from there? They could try and barricade themselves in, but the zombies would break in eventually. They could…

 

They could follow Alya’s example.

 

No! Marinette had promised to Alya that she would try to live. She wouldn’t give up this soon. There had to be something else they could do.

 

Another slam interrupted her thoughts, and she and Adrien both pulled out their weapons. Time was running out. She had to make a decision, and she had to do it NOW.

 

“Adrien,” She snapped, a crazy idea forming in her brain. “I think I have a plan, but you’re not gonna like it.” Adrien looked at her, waiting for her to explain further. She took a shaky breath, another slam making her wince.

 

“We’re gonna go out the back door and make our way to the front, and from there we’re gonna plow through the swarm.” Adrien didn’t respond at first, his eyes wide as the stupidity and risk of her plan sunk in. She closed her eyes and waited for his yelling, his exclamations that the idea was crazy and he would never go through with that.

 

But, as per usual, Adrien surprised her.

 

“Okay. If you think that’s the best plan, I trust you.” He said quietly, rubbing small circles on her hand with his thumb. She gasped, shocked by his complete faith in her abilities. She didn’t deserve that. She messed up, and she messed up a lot. It was foolish of him to trust her. She’d probably end up leading them to their death.

 

“Why do you trust me so much? This plan will probably backfire horribly and we’ll die extremely painful deaths.” She said in a small voice, looking down at her shoes. She heard Adrien grunt in disapproval, and suddenly she was looking into the crystal green depths of his eyes, his fingers firmly holding her chin in place.

 

“You’ve never led us in the wrong direction before. Ever since we met, you always made the best choice. You’re incredibly capable and intelligent, and I know that no matter what choice you make, it will be the right one.” There was no wavering in his words, he was completely and utterly certain of what he was saying. Marinette nodded slowly, wanting to hug Adrien as tightly as possible in that moment. But they didn’t have time. They had to move.

 

“Okay… Okay.” She gulped. “Follow me and have your knife at the ready.” He nodded and she led them towards the kitchen, the slamming on the front door growing louder. Their boots echoed around the room on the tile, their breathing being the only other sound in the entire house.

 

They crept out the back door, silent as thieves. Marinette closed the back door behind her, and signaled Adrien to follow her around the house. The grey sky was darkening further, storm clouds swirling malevolently in the distance. The smell of rot and decay wafted from the crowd of corpses, and Marinette slipped a scarf over her nose and mouth. They could hear the grunts and groans of the monsters, mixed with a few growls in between. They neared the front of the house, and peered over the corner of the wall to get a look at the crowd.

 

There were so many of them. All crowded around the front door like rabid fans waiting for their favorite celebrity. It was practically a wall of rotting meat, barely any gaps in between. Marinette tore her gaze away from the terrifying amount of zombies, and looked to the large that had kept the property safe from these things in the first place. She gasped when she saw it had been tipped over onto the ground.

 

“How?!” She whispered, her eyes as wide as saucers.

 

“I-I-I don’t know! I guess time had just rusted it to the point where a crowd of zombies could break it down.” Adrien said in an attempt to reason. Marinette had no idea how they didn’t notice this. This must’ve just happened, right? The gate was secure as ever when they entered the house, but now it was broken off its hinges and laying on the ground.

 

“Okay, we’ll figure out how it happened later. For now, we gotta focus on getting out of here.” Marinette said quietly, narrowing her eyes as she tried to decipher a way through the labyrinth of the dead.

 

It seemed impossible. They were packed as tightly as sardines, with no way in between. The only way through would be to plow through like a bulldozer. Marinette sighed, knowing that approach did not have a high likelihood of success, but that it was their only option at this point.

 

“We’re gonna go straight through, you got that?” Marinette asked, holding up her hatchet for emphasis. Adrien nodded, his mouth set in a firm line. She took a deep and shaky breath, steeling herself for what was about to come. She hated that this was the only option they were left with, but knew nothing could be done about it. She also knew there was no sense in delaying the inevitable, and so with one more breath, she plowed forward, locking her hand with Adrien’s in a vice grip.

 

The moment they stepped out from their hiding place, the zombies all looked up and saw the kids. They all began to turn away from the door, and started dragging their decayed bodies towards them. When Marinette took the first swing, everything became a blur. She swung and hacked her way through the crowd, kicking and shoving them out of the way left and right. She felt nails claw her arms and back, leaving ragged and bloody gashes in their wake. But these didn’t deter her. Marinette just kept swinging, her only goal being to make it to the fence in front of her. She didn’t let go of Adrien’s hand, not once.

 

Then, a hand came out of nowhere and dragged it’s nails straight down her face.

 

Marinette cried out and stepped back, letting go of Adrien’s hand to cover the wound. The vision in her left eye was already filling with blood, and it felt as if her face was on fire. She crouched, whimpering as her thoughts were filled with pain. In the back of her mind, she knew the zombies were approaching and she most likely only had seconds to retaliate before she got bit, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Her fingers were covered in crimson blood, the liquid falling on the ground like a rainfall.

 

Suddenly, a hand was grabbing the one of hers that wasn’t covering her face, and was dragging her through the crowd. A quick glance with her good eye revealed it was Adrien pulling her along, slashing violently at any zombies that came even close to them. The monsters fell like dominoes in his path, and not even one got close enough to lash at them again. Marinette let herself be pulled along, all her thoughts only of the pain.

 

Within seconds they were out of the property, and running down the empty streets. Marinette kept tripping over her feet, finding that it was very difficult to run when you only had half your vision. After the third time she tripped, Adrien just scooped her up in his arms and began running again. She didn’t know how he was carrying his pack along with her and the weight of her pack, but he didn’t falter. Not once. The blood was still streaming down her face, and she distantly thought of how glad she was that her jacket was already red.

 

“It’s okay, Mari. It’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry, I just gotta get you somewhere safe.” Adrien said. It took her a moment to realize he was crying.

 

“Gotta-agh-stop the bleeding.” She managed to spit out, a jolt of pain spiking through her. He looked at her face and nodded, and slowed his sprint. He searched the area, trying to figure out where the safest place to be was. Then, his eyes lit up when he saw a rooftop low enough for them to climb up.

 

“This is gonna hurt like a bitch, but I gotta boost you up to the roof first. You ready?” She nodded, knowing they didn’t really have any other option at this point. Marinette got out of Adrien’s arms, and stumbled slightly on her feet. Adrien caught her, and gave her a worried look. She tried to give him a reassuring smile but it probably didn’t help that she was covered in her own blood. Adrien just knelt down and offered his hand, gesturing for her to put her foot in there. She did, and with a grunt, he boosted her up and onto the roof.

 

It took all her effort not to scream from the flash of pain that resulted from that movement. 

 

Tears slid down her cheeks as she dragged herself up, her arms feeling as weak as jelly. In retrospect, she had no idea how she managed to pull her ass onto that roof, but somehow she did it. After that, she laid on her back, looking at the sky with her good eye. Adrien followed within seconds, and instantly put her head in his lap. 

 

“It’s okay my lady, we’re safe now.” He said, smoothing her hair with his fingers. “This isn’t gonna be fun, but I gotta clean out those scratches.” Marinette nodded, trusting Adrien to take care of her as best possible. He was right, the cleaning was not fun at all involved a lot of screaming, but eventually it was over with and Marinette’s face was bandaged up. They were sure how her eye was going to heal since the zombie had gotten a direct scratch on it, but Marinette was just glad her eye was the worst of it.

 

They made camp on the roof that night. They were both beyond exhausted and pressed up next to each other for warmth in the chilly winter air, but despite everything that had gone down that day, Marinette felt slightly hopeful about the future. She hoped they could make it to Paris and make another camp, and just have some time to be safe again. It was never going to be the same as it was before, but she and Adrien could make something new. 

 

Marinette and Adrien fell asleep that night, counting the little bits of stars that peaked through the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...ya these kids ain't ever getting a break
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed and I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner than several goddamn months
> 
> My tumblr: themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com


	16. May You Rest in a Deep and Dreamless Slumber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette begins to confront the dark emotions dwelling within her own mind as the couple makes their way to Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been dealing with the end of the semester and stuff trying to get my grades up, plus I've been getting into a whole new fandom so that's been keeping me occupied 
> 
> We're nearing the end with this! If I follow my plan the next chapter should be the second to last one! This chapter was a lot of fun to write so I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Also shout out as usual to my beta Jewel, she's the best and keeps my ass in line with commas among other grammar mistakes

The day after the mansion incident, Marinette and Adrien had left their city, using a map Adrien had found in a crumpled heap in the bottom of his bag to try and figure out their way to Paris. Although the journey itself wasn’t terrible in terms of zombie attacks, it was becoming extremely cold. Marinette never remembered it being this cold in the winters before this all went down, but maybe she had just taken her daily access to a warm home for granted. Every morning Adrien and Marinette would wake up, curled as close together as possible in a single sleeping bag, both unable to feel their toes. At first this close proximity elicited bright flushing from both of the kids, but it only took a few days for them to get over their embarrassment.

 

The one thing that definitely did turn Marinette into a blushing pile of goo in the mornings, however, was how Adrien would always grin and give the girl a small kiss on her nose. But it only took a few seconds for Marinette to gather her thoughts after that, and she would return the favor by giving him a kiss on the cheek. That, in turn, would make Adrien flush beet red and giggle like a middle schooler. It was basically their morning routine at this point.

 

As far as her injury went, Marinette never did regain her full sight in her left eye. Adrien had given her a makeshift eyepatch to wear while it was still healing, which she loved because she always thought she looked like a badass with it, but when he had taken it off a few weeks later, Marinette was distressed to find she couldn’t see anything out of it. That had resulted in the girl panicking and Adrien having to hold her as comfort, but eventually she accepted it. And, miraculously, a small bit of vision did return to the injured body part, but it was only the ability to see a little bit of light.

 

But hey, she got a cool ass scar from it so it wasn’t all bad, right?

 

After that, time lost its meaning as the days became monotonous repeats of each other. The duo would wake up, greet each other with their half-platonic half-romantic kisses, eat a pathetic breakfast of canned food, and start walking until they became too tired to continue. And then it would repeat. Over and over and over again.

 

The scenery around them even stopped changing once they left the suburbs. Office buildings and quaint houses turned to snow-covered fields and towering trees. No matter how far they went, how far it seemed they had traveled, it never seemed they were going anywhere. Marinette began to wonder if she was trapped in a time loop, as it seemed an impossibility that they could go this far and not get anywhere. Neither of them knew how many weeks it had been since Alya and Nino had died, but the emotional wounds were still raw and fresh in both their minds.

 

Most nights they spent staring at the stars, pointing out constellations they knew and making up ones they didn’t to each other until they fell asleep. But occasionally, the memories would resurface and they’d cry into each other’s shoulders, holding onto each other as if they were the only thing they both had left. What was even worse, though, was the nightmares. The screams of those who had died still haunted Marinette in her sleep, Alya and Nino’s voices now added to that mix, but she was also plagued by new dreams as well.

 

It would start out as a replay of the fateful day Alya and Nino had perished, but instead of the couple standing in the center of the encroaching zombie horde, it was Adrien. Adrien’s face would be filled with fear, his green eyes looking around wildly for a way out. He would begin to scream for Marinette, begging her to come save him, but whenever she tried to yell back she wouldn’t be able to speak. Tears would fill her eyes as she tried to scream for him, but he would never hear her and just continue to beg for her.

 

“MARINETTE HELP ME! PLEASE! I DON’T WANNA BECOME ONE OF THEM! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!” Then he would break down in sobs while Marinette tried to yell and run towards him, only finding herself completely unable to. Sometimes it was Alya holding her back, other times it was an unknown figure. The last thing she always saw was a zombie biting into Adrien’s neck, and his crimson blood would splatter onto her face.

 

She always woke up screaming from those, and would cling to Adrien for hours after the terror ended.

 

They never travelled on those days.

 

One night though, after a particularly rough day of travel, the nightmare was different.

 

“So, bugaboo, cat ears, yes or no?” Adrien asked in a playful tone, giving Marinette a small kiss on the lips. Marinette blinked in surprise, unaware of the fact that she was dreaming but intrinsically knowing something was off. She looked around and saw they were sitting in a grassy meadow, the air warm and heavy with the sweet smell of flowers. The sky shone a brilliant azure overhead, puffy white clouds dotting the beautiful expanse of blue. Birds tweeted from the trees surrounding the meadow, and the babble of a small creek could be heard in the distance.

 

“I’m gonna go with a yes even though they make you look like a wannabe anime magical girl.” Marinette answered with a giggle, rubbing her thumb along Adrien’s knuckles as they held hands. Adrien grinned widely at that, his peridot gaze sparkling.

 

“That’s actually the look I’m going for, in case you didn’t know,” He said with a smirk. “It’s always been my dream to become a magical girl.” Marinette snorted this time, leaning into Adrien’s shoulder without a care in the world.

 

“Are you gonna sign a contract with an alien cat bunny thing to do that?” Marinette asked with raised brows. Adrien squealed in delight, his eyes lighting up brighter than any star.

 

“You watch anime?! Oh my god, I knew there was a reason I love you!” Marinette gasped slightly at the confession, but Adrien didn’t seem embarrassed.

 

“I love you too, you dork.” Marinette said in response. Or rather, that’s what she would’ve said, if she was able to speak. The words seemed to get caught in her throat, and no matter how hard she tried to say them, all that came out of her mouth was a strange choking noise. Adrien gave her a worried look, and gentle cupped her cheek.

 

“Are you okay, my lady?” He asked in a soft voice. Marinette wanted to say yes, she was fine, but it seemed she had completely lost her ability to speak. She began to cough violently, and gasped when a spurt of blood came from her lips. The crimson liquid contrasted brightly against the green grass. She looked up, trying to wipe the blood off her face, and gasped when she saw the meadow had disappeared, and so had Adrien.

 

You found yourself sitting alone in a dark room, no windows or doors in sight. The only illumination is a single spotlight that was shining on you, the source of which was unknown. You suddenly got the strange feeling you are being watched. You attempted to call out hello, but more blood comes spurting from your lips as a result.

 

It wouldn’t stop. The hot, thick, red liquid is spewing from your guts and onto the ground in a never ending rain. The more you tried to speak, the more blood you coughed up.

 

Then, a hard and mocking voice spoke.

 

“This your own fault, you know?” Your head whipped up to the source of the voice, and gasped when you saw Alya standing in front of you, her hands on her hips and her face contorted with disgust.

 

“A-Alya!” You managed to spit out, before another coughing fit seized you.

 

“You’re so stupid, you know that? You think you would’ve figured out that talking only makes it worse, but no, you’re still trying to talk. I mean, you never could shut that big fat mouth of yours.” You looked at Alya with tears swimming in your eyes. Why was she saying this to you?

 

She has every reason to be saying these things to you. You should know that.

 

You’re an idiot.

 

“Actually, a lot of things would’ve been solved if you had just been a little smarter, Marinette. My death, for example.” Alya’s voice was filled with contempt. “If you had actually taken a moment to actually use that pretty little head of yours to think for once, you would’ve realized the corpses were coming.” Alya leaned down, her face only inches from yours. “I died because of you. And, actually, now that I’m thinking about it, if you had just been a little more suspicious of Jagged Stone, Nino wouldn’t have gotten bit at all and the whole mess could’ve been avoided. I mean, who the fuck just lets a strange man into their camp? So, in all actuality, you’re responsible for both our deaths.” Alya was practically spitting now, her face filled with rage and hate.

 

“You killed me, Marinette! Because of your stupidity, I had to kill not only myself, but my fucking boyfriend too!” Suddenly, the auburn’s hand shot out and slapped you straight across the face. This only caused you to spit more blood. Tears were streaming down your face as you realized Alya was completely right. It was your fault. You were the one who was supposed to think ahead, that’s what Ladybug did after all, but you had failed. You had failed horribly and now your two best friends were dead.

 

You killed them.

 

You are a murderer.

 

Looking back up, you were surprised to see that Alya was gone, and the boy from the mall was standing in her place.

 

“I can’t believe you let me kill myself.” He said in a venomous tone. “Not only did you let me, you handed me the fucking gun! What the fuck is wrong with you?! You could’ve helped me! Or at least taken me back to your camp or something and let me die in a nicer place than a fucking mall!” You winced, knowing he was right. You wanted to say you were sorry, but you knew that would only make you cough more. “And then you had the nerve to believe what you had done was a good thing? That’s fucked up, I hope you know that you’re a horrible person.” 

 

Oh, look at that, you’ve killed three people now.

 

Then, he disappeared, and your parents were standing in his place.

 

“Mama! Pap-“ You reached out to hug them, but were knocked to the floor with a hard backhand from your mother. Cupping your injured cheek, you gazed at your parents in confusion, and saw they were both scowling at you.

 

“I’ve never been so ashamed to call you my daughter, Marinette.” Your mother said in a cold voice. “You didn’t even try to look for us! We could’ve been trapped, waiting for the only person who knew where we were to come help us, and you didn’t even bother. You must’ve really hated us.” Your mother’s normally warm and kind grey eyes were filled with nothing but contempt for you.

 

“Were we not good parents? Is that it?” Your father asked in a broken voice, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. “Were we really so bad that you let us die? We tried our best, your mother and I. We did nothing but love you and try to give you the best home possible, but I guess it just wasn’t enough.” You wanted nothing more than to scream that that wasn’t true, that they were the best parents you could ever ask for, but you knew it would amount to nothing. So instead, you just cried into your hands.

 

But did you really think they were the best parents ever? You hated them all along, didn’t you?

 

You just saw the opportunity to get rid of them and took it.

 

That’s the kind of person you are.

 

When you looked up again, you jumped back at the image of yourself standing there, donned in the full Ladybug outfit. 

 

It’s me.

 

“Now do you realize why you’re such a failure?” I asked. “You let everyone around you die. It’s happened so much it’s like you’re doing this on purpose.”

 

“Wh-who are you?” You asked. I barked out a harsh and grating laugh.

 

“Wow, you’re an idiot. I’m you, dumbass. Well, I’m the part of you that actually has a conscious. The one that wouldn’t let all her friends die if she was in control.” You continued to cry. “I don’t understand why you’re just now coming to this realization. It’s pretty damn obvious if you ask me. Everyone around you dies, and it seems like Adrien’s gonna be next. What are you gonna do? Let him fall off a cliff? Freeze to death? Or maybe let him starve to death, that would be a bad way to go.”

 

“No! I won’t let that happen! Adrien and I have been through much together!” You shouted, your voice suddenly returning. I laughed again.

 

“You already have, though.” I said with a smirk. You gasped, unaware of what I meant with those incriminating words, until I grabbed your head and jerked it to the side, showing you a pale figure, slumped over on the cold, hard, ground. You shoved my hand off and ran over to Adrien’s limp body, tears streaming down your face as you took his head in your lap.

 

He was completely covered in blood, bite marks scarring every inch of his body. His blonde hair was dull and soaked with the red liquid, and his green eyes stared blankly into the distance. More sobs tore through your throat as you were wracked with guilt, knowing that this was all your doing. 

 

“See, Marinette? You can’t protect anyone, not even the one you love.” I said with a malicious grin, before running my finger along your lower lip, wiping off some of the blood that still coated it. Before you could say anything, rattle off any more pathetic excuses or pleas, I disappeared, leaving you all alone with the dead remains of everyone you loved, laid down in a circle around you.

 

A ring of death. 

 

You screamed in agony at what you had lost.

 

“Marinette?! Marinette! Wake up!” Adrien said, shaking Marinette awake and out of the twisted realm of her subconscious. Marinette bolted upright, her breathing ragged as tears streamed down her cheeks in an endless waterfall. The images of her dead loved ones played over and over again in her mind’s eye like a looping video, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to get them out of her head. 

 

“Mari! Are you okay? You were screaming.” Adrien asked, leaning over her and wrapping his arm around her trembling body. She shook her head no, unable to speak as she was having a difficult time catching her breath as she wept. Adrien hugged her close to his chest, and she clutched his shirt desperately, breathing in his familiar scent and relishing in the fact that he was alive. “It’s okay, it’s okay my lady, it was just a dream.” He said, rubbing small circles into her back. 

 

After a few minutes of crying, Marinette was finally able to catch her breath enough to straighten up. She wiped at her eyes and pushed her hair back, and glanced up to see Adrien staring at her, the concern evident in his eyes. 

 

“I-I’m sorry Adrien, it-it’s just that… that nightmare was so real… it was so horrible-” Her voice broke and she crumpled in on herself, the words that everyone had said to her still ringing in her ears.

 

‘Your fault.’

 

“Hey… hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now, you’re with me.” Adrien said, cupping her cheek softly. She tried to smile, but couldn’t bring herself to make it convincing. “Do you… do you wanna talk about it?” She immediately shook her head no, not wanting to relive any moment of that terror. “Do you wanna go back to sleep?” Although the thought of that dream happening again scared the living daylights out of Marinette, her body felt drained from the mental ordeal, and she could already feel her eyelids getting heavy again. So she nodded yes, and he gently pulled her back down to their sleeping bag. 

 

Marinette curled into Adrien’s chest, and he enveloped her in his arms. She glanced up and saw his face bright and healthy, no sign of the injuries from her dream, and let herself relax into his hold. 

 

“Adrien?” Marinette whispered hesitantly after a few moments. Adrien blinked opened his eyes. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save Nino.” Her voice was small when she spoke, and he furrowed his brows in confusion.

 

“You don’t need to apologize. That wasn’t your fault, my lady.” She sighed, knowing that wasn’t true. 

 

“It is though, if I hadn’t let Jagged Stone into the camp then we’d still be living there with Alya and Nino and everything would be okay.” Her voice broke on those last words, and her eyes began watering yet again. 

 

“No, Marinette, there was no way you could’ve known letting Jagged in would’ve caused all that. Plus, we made that decision all together, as a group.” Adrien said, his gaze filled with conviction. “You have no reason to feel guilty for that, alright?” As much as Marinette wanted to believe him, she could feel the doubts eating away at her mind like maggots. But she knew this conversation was going nowhere, so she just nodded. 

 

“Okay.” She whispered, giving him a small but convincing enough smile. He smiled back, and closed his eyes. 

 

Unfortunately, Marinette was not able to go back to sleep that night.

 

She never had that nightmare again, but it tormented her constantly. The hateful gazes of Alya, the unnamed boy, and her parents always reappeared in her brain whenever she least expected it. The guilt she felt over their deaths ate away at her sanity, and she did her best to hide her tears from Adrien while he slept. She felt herself spiraling into a black pit of grief, but in her mind, that was what she deserved. So she didn’t tell Adrien any bit of her dark thoughts, and kept them locked away at the back of her mind. 

 

More weeks passed, and by some miracle, they made their way back to the weathered remains of civilization. Eventually, they made it to the abandoned shell of what Paris once was, and found that Marinette’s prediction was right. Besides the normal amount of corpses here and there, the city itself was mostly deserted. They wandered the streets of their old home for several days, before, without even realizing it, they came across the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. 

 

Marinette was excited at first, and dragged Adrien in by the hand while smiling brightly for the first time in ages, but that joy was quickly extinguished as the less favorable memories the building held came rushing back. 

 

The interior looked almost identical to how Marinette and Alya had left it, the faded, winter sunlight that passed through the windows catching the dust as it floated through the stale air. Marinette immediately quieted as her time spent here came back, and Adrien noticed the change in seconds. 

 

“Hey, you okay?” He asked gently, placing a hand on her back. She bit her lip, willing herself not to cry again, and steeled her gaze before looking up at him and nodding. 

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. How about you do a quick check of the downstairs and I’ll check out the upstairs to make sure it’s safe?” She suggested. Adrien nodded and pulled out his knife, before stalking off to sweep the area. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief and walked up the stairs she had walked up millions of times before, and prepared herself for what she was about to see.

 

Marinette came to the trapdoor that was the entryway to her bedroom, and quickly located the key she had hidden nearby. She grinned proudly when she saw the lock was still in place, glad to know that her plan of writing ‘DON’T OPEN, DEAD INSIDE’ on the outside of the trapdoor kept the looters out just like she wanted. Even though at the time she had had no idea if she would ever come back to the bakery, she didn’t want anyone going inside her room. Even if that was selfish of her, she had just wanted a place she could come back to and know was still her own.

 

Using the key to unlock the padlock, Marinette pushed open the door, and felt as if she had stepped backwards through time.

 

As expected, her room was exactly the same as she and Alya had left it. Her bed was made neatly, a fine layer of dust having settled over her bright pink sheets. The pillows on her couch were plumped nicely, and her desk had her magazines and her sewing machine all in their proper places. But if her memory served her correctly, she knew this picture of timeless perfection was all just a facade, hiding all the hints of the actual events that had transpired over the 6 month period she and Alya had hidden there.

 

Marinette walked into her room and began rummaging through her drawers. Within seconds she had found piles of bloody bandages, empty cans of food, dull razor blades, and torn pieces of clothing, all hidden away from the eyes of any outsiders that dared to trespass. These items held a story that only she and Alya knew, and that was a story that did not need to be shared with anyone else. 

 

“Hey bugaboo! Did you find anything?” Adrien asked cheerfully as he bounded up the stairs. He paused when he reached the trapdoor, no doubt reading the fake warning Marinette had written on it, and cautiously poked his head through the opening. He sighed in relief when he saw Marinette calmly standing in front of her desk.

 

When she heard him walking towards her, a wave of panic seized her and in one swift motion she shut all the drawers, the sound of them slamming echoing through the air. Adrien cocked his head in befuddlement, obviously wondering why she had such a reaction. 

 

“Marinette… is there something you're hiding from me?” He asked her. His tone was not angry or judgemental, instead it was merely curious. 

 

“Uh, oh, um,” Marinette had no idea how to respond, but didn't want to lie to him. If she said yes he would probably want to see the drawers, and if he saw the drawers he would most definitely want the stories behind the items they contained. She couldn't tell him though, some memories were too raw and emotional to unbury.

 

“I… Yes, there's some stuff in here I don't want you to see. I’m sorry, I know that's horrible of me and that I should trust you with everything, which I do, there are just some things I don't want to have to explain.” She said, her tone sheepish as she stared intently at the ground. 

 

“That's okay, I understand. If you don't want to talk about certain things that's perfectly fine, I won't push you.” Adrien replied with a kind smile. Marinette gaped at him for what must've been a solid minute, before running up to hug him. She'd been expecting some yelling, cold words, or at the very least a look of hurt, but Adrien didn't do any of that. He understood her perfectly, and she had never loved him more than in that moment.

 

“How did I get such a good boyfriend?” She murmured into his shirt. Although she wasn't looking, Adrien turned bright red at the words ‘boyfriend’ as they had never classified their relationship until that point. But then, his grin grew even wider as he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

 

“More like how did I get such an amazing girlfriend?” He whispered into her hair. She smiled and looked up, letting all the bad thoughts and memories festering within her mind be washed away by the sea of green that was Adrien’s gaze. 

 

On a whim, Marinette rose to her tiptoes and without hesitation, pressed her lips against Adrien’s.

 

This was the first time they had had a real kiss since that spin the bottle game so very long ago, and it was as slow and cautious as one would expect it to be. Their dry, chapped lips moved against each other in a gentle and rhythmic motion, getting deeper and bolder as the seconds wore on. Marinette could feel Adrien’s heartbeat against her chest, and let his warmth and comfort wrap her in an ethereal embrace.

 

Eventually, their lips parted and they took a moment to just stare at one another, drinking in the other’s flushed cheeks and swollen lips like sweet wine. Then they both smiled and hugged again.

 

That night they snuggled close together in Marinette’s bed, drawing circles along each other's backs to pass the time. For the first time in a very long time, Marinette felt truly happy and safe. She was in her own bed, wrapped in the arms of the one she loved. And even if the safety was only temporary, so was everything else in the world, so she might as well relish it while she could.

 

That night, Marinette had a deep and dreamless slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy oh howdy how I like for things to get dark. 
> 
> The nightmare scene was one of the most fun things I've written in a long time. It was so interesting to play with the dark twisted guilt lingering in Marinette's subconscious, so I hope you liked it.
> 
> I was a bit hesitant about changing the point of view for the dream bit but overall thought it was a really cool thing to do, so I hope you all thought it was as cool as I did! 
> 
> And in case you couldn't tell, a lot of the inspiration for the dream was taken from the nightmare sequence in one of my favorite video games Life is Strange lol
> 
> Let's all cross our fingers and hope I get the next chapter out soon though we all know that's probably not likely lol. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!! It makes my day!
> 
> My tumblr (please message me I love talking to you guys): themiraculoustrashcan.tumblr.com


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